Seals of Fate
by GBAboy313
Summary: Fate is a strange thing. Two who's fate was supposed to be death and insanity instead were given something new. Let's see how the world changes when Obito and Rin are around to help both their village and raise their sensei's son. Canon pairings, and some others. Rated M for safety later on.
1. Birth of a New Path

Seals of Fate

**For every action there is an accompanying reaction. A timeline is a series of events that comprises a story, to alter one event could have drastic consequences on all events going forward and even have some effects on events going back if the butterfly effect is taken into account for the lead up to the alteration. Or you could just have a few small, inconsequential happenings due to the newly induced changes. You never know really until you explore it, because those small inconsequential happenings could snowball into a catastrophe, or fizzle out anti-climatically. Our story takes place in the world of the shinobi, the world of Naruto, similar to the world that we all know, however this world's history is drastically altered by a few event going differently. Obito's supposed death never occurring but an event causing him to gain his Mangekyo nonetheless is the one of the primary changes, occurring before the start. An altered mission that originally resulted in the death of Rin and Obito going insane as a result, is the second major change. There are smaller changes as well, changes done previous to our starting point, which itself an in medias res beginning with Rin coming to after being rescued after Sanbi implantation. Let's see how things go.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto is owned by Kishimoto. Haku and Zabuza would have survived the Land of Waves if I owned Naruto. Beyond that, I don't know what I would do with them.**

Chapter 1

Prologue and Commencement

Birth of a new path

Pain.

That was all Rin could feel as the blackness the Kiri nins had put her in while implanting the Sanbi into her receded.

She could see 3 figures gathered around her as she laid in a bed that was most likely in an inn. Her teacher Minato as well as her teammates Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Obito. Minato-sensei's presence was very odd because he was forced to separate from his students on short notice to execute a task pertinent to the current mission.

She noticed that Kakashi had begun wearing his headband like a makeshift eyepatch to keep his implanted sharingan eye suppressed except for when he needed it. The story on how he got it involved stumbling across an Uchiha missing nin earlier in the mission. He was glad he decided to break the rules and extract the traitor's sharingans in case they might be needed for implants, especially after he lost an eye during this mission they were currently on.

Pragmatism at its finest.

Obito looked as though he had been forced to watch someone die and then seen them alive like nothing was wrong. Rin noticed a few peculiarities with Obito who looked as though he had just gotten up from a pretty severe breakdown and a bad beating. The next oddest thing she noticed was his sharingan, which he had on at the moment, like he was trying to make sure if what was in front of him. Obito had managed to activate his bloodline limit a few months ago on a c-rank gone wrong. Before she had been abducted, Obito had two tomoes in both sharingans, but now it was something entirely different from the standard tomoe symbols.

They looked like a 3 bladed propeller blade.

Obito looked as though his entire world had been shaken by something and Rin had heard of cases where an Uchiha's sharingan would undergo mutations based on the proper stimulus. No one had figured out how or why, and no Uchiha was willing to be a testing dummy.

Rin decided she could ask another day on what caused this mutation.

Rin found her team to be a strange one as the members of it were all orphaned. Minato-sensei had lost his parents shortly after becoming a genin, Kakashi lost his mother when she gave birth to him and lost his father when he committed Seppuku to reclaim some honor he had lost. Obito's father died before he was born while his mother died on a mission before his final year at the academy and was helped by his aunt Mikoto when he needed something afterwards.

Rin had lost her parents before she was even old enough to remember them. The only reason she knew her family name was Nohara was because one of the caretakers at the orphanage she grew up in had been familiar with her parents.

Once Rin and Obito reached through to Kakashi and helped him to start breaking free of his obsession with following the rules as a result of his father's suicide due to the shame of breaking them to save a comrade at the cost of failing the mission, a bond had begun to tie the three together. They would have their arguments and disagreements, but all of that would pass as their family of choice continued to keep on moving forward.

Before the new Sanbi jinchuriki could continue her thoughts, her hearing decided to snap to work and she heard: "You're awake, good, we thought we were gonna lose you for a while there." The ever reassuring voice of Namikaze Minato relaxing her mild panic at sound suddenly being heard again. Before she could ask anything Minato began to explain that to Rin that they were able to save her from the Mist Nins, but they were unable to get there in time: as a result Rin was the newest Jinchuriki of the Sanbi, the three-tailed Turtle.

However before she could begin contemplating her life, Minato began to explain some of the ups and downs that came with being a Jinchuriki, as well as the fact that he replaced the intentionally faulty Biju containment seal on her with one that would properly work.

Rin was thinking about everything and came to a conclusion: though the events that granted her this was tragic, she was not going to allow it to consume her. She was going to take this turn of events and make the power she had been so _GRACIOUSLY _given by Kiri into her own like the other Jinchurikis she had heard of, who received the power from their villages when they were much younger than her 14 years old. The ninjas who had forged themselves into legends like the Magma Monkey Sage Roshi, the Red Steam Fortress Han, and, most infamously, Killer B of Kumo's most recent A and B tag team.

She was not letting go of her dream to be a Medic Nin, even though she would have to put a lot more effort into control training. In fact it just made an alteration to that dream: to be the first Jinchuriki capable of being a focused Medical Ninja.

Once they knew she was well enough to travel the group set out for the Hidden Leaf.

But along the way a voice had begun to make itself known within the young kunoichi's head.

**Perhaps you might be a better host than my previous one, young one.**

'_I have to be going crazy, I could have sworn I heard a voice in my head.'_

**I assure you, your sanity is as strong as ever. It is just the shock of hearing my voice for the first time.**

'_How can I be considered sane and normal if I'm hearing voices?'_

**I said you were sane, not normal.**

'_Fair enough. But how long have you been in my mind?'_

**I haven't been in your head long, young one. I have only been here as long as the last month at the most. Even I'm not quite sure, my mind is a haze due to the sudden extraction and then implantation into your body.**

'_Within the last month? Wait a moment you said you were implanted?!'_

With that one statement, realization dawned upon Rin as she realized who was implanted into her.

'_You're the Three Tailed Turtle, Sanbi no Kame!'_

**It took you that long to figure out who I am?! I believe it took you less time than most would take, you truly are an observational prodigy and a great mind of this age. Truly I have never seen another Jinchuriki with your observational prowess.**

'_Back off on the sarcasm, I'm trying to be nice and it surprised me!'_

**I have had very little opportunity for personal enjoyment, I usually entertain myself by taking what you humans call 'pot shots' at my jinchurikis when they start hearing me.**

'_Huh, whenever I hear about Biju I always think about the stories about you being demons, Nature's wrath made flesh, angry animals. But hearing you right now you sound mellow and quite eloquent, even having a sense of humor beyond what is assigned to you which is typical demonic sadism from folklore.'_

**Aren't you afraid that I'll try to force my way out of the seal and go on a rampage?**

'_I don't think I should really be afraid unless something awful happens while Kushina-sensei teaches me to control your chakra. Unless you actually are planning on breaking out to go on a rampage, are you?'_

A mental silence ensued as the turtle let his thoughts gather at what his newest host had just said.

_**I was just joking, being sarcastically hopeful when I said I hoped she could be different, Kurama is right about most humans being the same and unchanging, often for the worst. But one piece of wisdom that Son Goku shared with me is that the ones worth protecting are the ones who acknowledge us as being sentient beings rather than mindless monsters, and though there may be ages in between meeting one, often times it makes protecting humanity as a whole worth it just to see another. After all this time I finally found another who acknowledges me as such.**_

_**Maybe things can be different with this girl.**_

**No I'm not planning on forcing my way out.**

'_Then maybe we can be friends, if that's okay with you?'_

**You do realize that even if I'm not planning on trying to kill you by forcing my way out of the seal, we still are in a prisoner and the warden of their prison style relationship? Because of that it is unlikely that we will be reaching a true understanding until a few years down the line.**

'_I hope we can reach that agreement, I'd hate to be stuck with you while trapped in the sort of relationship that Kushina-sensei possess with the fox.'_

**I know that the man leading you is called Minato, as my mind became aware of my new conditions before I began speaking to you, so I assume this Kushina is another of your teachers. Because unless there is an inside joke at play here, Kushina is a feminine name if I remember correctly. Though I can't help but marvel at the coincidence that I was implanted into a student of the Jinchuriki who contained one of my brothers. **

'_WAIT! The Fox is your brother?!'_

**All of the Biju are siblings.**

'_Okay, did not expect to hear that. So in favor of trying to move this conversation along: do you mind expanding on that?'_

…**No, it's something I don't like talking about.**

'_Fine I can respect that. Do you have a name?'_

**Yes, but I only tell it to those I trust absolutely.**

'_Fine, but do you have something you would rather be called other than Three Tails, or Sanbi, or any variation on those two?'_

**No. you may call me whatever you want. But I do suggest you focus on the others they are starting to get worried.**

"RIN!" a shout of her name startled her out of the near trance like state she had been in ever since she started her conversation with the not-so monstrous Sanbi.

She looked over to see a panicked Obito with a look of despair on his face that made him look much older than his 13 year old face should.

"Rin, are you alright?" asked Minato-sensei.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rin responded, trying to sound convincing enough.

"Are you really?" the man asked again.

Rin sighed "No, the turtle started talking to me."

Her teammates' eyes went wide and Obito asked: "You mean that it you talked to the Three Tails?"

"Yeah I had a whole conversation with it." Rin answered

"And?" Minato asked sensing that she hadn't said something she wanted to.

"We are already got a better relationship than Kushina-sensei and the Fox." Rin said with a small smile on her face

Xxx

_Time skip _

_2 years later_

**October 10****th**

_**4 hours before the Delivery**_

Rin and her team had just returned from an A-ranked mission 2 days ago, just in time to get last minute preparations for what was about to happen today.

Much had changed in two years' time. The lessons from Kushina-sensei to Rin had allowed her to start training to actually control Sanbi's power. Her medical prowess had begun to increase once she began learning how to take away the poisonous component of her Sanbi enhanced chakra during the conversion process to alter her chakra into healing chakra.

Obito had changed a bit as well, shortly after the mission, he severed his ties to the Uchiha clan, not out of hatred but out of irreconcilable differences between his principles and the vocal majority of the clan. Mikoto and Shisui had been the only ones to actually try to get him to reconsider his position, but whatever had happened during the mission had made him wary of his clan.

His physical appearance and attire had also changed slightly, ditching his goggles and ear protectors entirely and allowed his hair to grow out slightly.

But all of that paled in comparison to the power he revealed to them that the mission had awakened: The Mangekyo Sharingan. The power by which Madara had legendarily been able to control the Kyubi and use it to battle the First Hokage.

The primary ability he had that made his unique compared to others was his possession of a space-time technique called Kamui, allowing him to phase parts or the entirety of his body into a pocket dimension allowing things to go through him like he was a ghost. The technique also allowed him to open up spatial holes to suck up anything in the near vicinity, including himself if he choose, and send it to the pocket dimension he had named the Kamui World. Minato had allowed him access to the research concerning the Flying Raijin for the purposes of better developing Kamui. The eventual result had been Obito developing the Kamui Marker with a few pointers, allowing him to target his warps towards to whatever held the seal.

Kakashi had changed little but his reputation had become legendary among the elemental nations as the Copy Ninja, master of 1000 jutsu that he had seen and copied with a Sharingan he had in his eye socket despite not being an Uchiha.

He had also gained the moniker The Lightning Wolf, a title based on his family canine association and his mastery over the Lightning Release. He had developed a Chidori variant called the Chidori Current in an attempt to begin reverse engineering the effects of Kumo's Lightning Armor. The most recent result was a far more efficient version of his Chidori Current called the Lightning Cloak.

All three had been taken in to their teacher's home, easing some of the voids that some of the three orphans still possessed in their lives, keeping their strange family together and happy. All three had taken up learning Minato's fuinjutsu arts, each one excelling at it in their own way. Obito had decided to make the area his niche among the group, pouring everything he was into learning how to do it and do it well. Kushina gave him extra lessons to help him attain that goal.

Recent events included the Jonin promotions of both Obito and Rin as well as Kushina's pregnancy and she was due to give birth to a son tonight. Minato-sensei had become Hokage 3 months before Kushina became pregnant. Minato liked to be optimistic about the world and everyone in it, but something had happened before he became Hokage that made him weary to certain possibilities and start preparing for them.

One of his acts had been to officially adopt his three students as members of the Uzumaki clan's Konoha branch, making them his children by adoption and the siblings to his and Kushina's son. He also had made a will with specific instructions that if anything happened to both him and Kushina, his students were to take custody of his son, having already been given his name: Uzumaki Naruto, after the main character in Minato's sensei Jiraiya's novel the Tale of a Gutsy Ninja to honor his teacher, and given the boy his mother's clan name. The young Jonins had been given the status of legal guardians to Naruto should anything happen, they were made the executors of Minato and Kushina's estate as well with specific orders regarding it.

He also planned ahead in case something happened to Kushina and he was forced to seal the Kyubi inside Naruto, with orders to be carried out by whoever succeeded him following his death in the worst case scenario, whether it be the newly appointed Fifth Hokage or the Third Hokage retaking the hat, on penalty of death for disobeying the final order of the Fourth Hokage.

Apprehension stuck heavily in the minds of the three young shinobi as the clock's hands ticked towards the moment that their adoptive mother and teacher entered labor.

What would this night bring?

Will things be alright with the looming of the possible threat of the Kyubi's freedom?

Unfortunately, life is unfair.

_**4.5 hours later**_

"Kakashi, Rin. Grab onto me. We are going to have to try it." Said Obito as he readied himself to make use of Kamui, one of his Mangekyo jutsus, using its warping capabilities to escape the guards left to prevent the young ninjas from joining the battle against Kyubi. Kurenai and the others had begun to carry out a distraction to prevent the escorts from being able to stop the young Jonins.

Once everything was in place as Kakashi planned, he waited till the factors were perfect, before screaming "NOW!" at his best friend, who responded with the announcement "Spiraling body flicker!" to throw them off to the real nature of Obito's teleportation method.

Any Konoha jonin who was aware of the Mangekyo's existence would also be aware of the fact that almost all techniques linked to it were named after a traditional god that usually could be linked to what the jutsu entailed.

The vortex appeared from his eye and sucked the three into his Kamui World, a dimension that existed linked to his Kamui technique.

Obito immediately made a hand seal and began sensing. Within the Kamui world, the real world was linked to the alternate dimension in a mirrored sort of way, a straight jump to the Kamui world would put Obito in a place that represented where he was jumping from and should he make use of Kamui phasing, the parts of himself being phased into the Kamui World would be represented in the spot mirroring where he was phasing in the real world. He could jump to a specific part of the Kamui world under certain conditions and he could jump directly to another location in the real world but it required that he already be familiar with the location or if he was using some form of sensing or marker detection to make a jump to.

He found what he was looking for after a moment of searching, Minato-sensei's chakra as well as Kushina-sensei's chakra. Obito was inexperienced at detecting chakras due to the relatively recent discovery of Kamui warping, but he could definitely tell that Kushina's chakra was far weaker than it should be even though the fox was extracted. He was scared because of what experience with sensing he did have especially with weakened chakras told him that she was hurt and hurt bad, possibly even dying or too late to be saved.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he told his friends: "Get ready."

Once he knew they were grabbing him, he molded the chakra to create the Kamui portal and the three were pulled through.

Xxx

A dull ache permeated Minato's entire body as he stood holding both Kushina and Naruto after teleporting the kyubi to the outside of his hideout where he left them. He could tell that Kushina was hurting very badly as a result of the extraction, most likely she would die if she did not get intense medical treatment for the damage done to her chakra system. The moment he had to catch his breath and steel himself for what was about to happen and what he had to do was given to him by the feedback the Kyubi was suffering due to being forcibly teleported by the Flying Raijin had left it dazed and unable to react.

Before he could begin acting, a familiar sound occurred and from a distortion emerged from it was his three students. "SENSEI!" Minato was shocked at his students being here after he told them to stay back. "What are you three doing…" before Minato remembered his fight with the masked man who was able to control the fox with a Sharingan, presumably the Mangekyo Sharingan. _'Obito possessed the same dojutsu, perhaps he could enact a form of control over the fox to buy time for what I have planned.'_ "… Never mind, Obito, I need you to switch to your Mangekyo and attempt to place the Kyubi in a Sharingan Genjutsu, don't ask why at the moment I'll tell you in a moment. Rin, check on Kushina and see if you can stabilize her. Kakashi, keep sharp and make sure no one attempts to interfere."

Obito did as he was told and began attempting to put the fox under a genjutsu with his Mangekyo, a few attempts at the task while the fox was making eye contact with him caused the monster to reel back and start roaring.

When it stopped and opened its eyes, the slitted eyes of the creature was dilated before shrinking to reveal a sharingan pattern in its eyes. Kakashi, Rin, and Obito were shocked at the development and the Kitsune's sudden docility.

"How?" Obito questioned while Minato finished summoning the sealing altar, before they began hearing Rin sobbing until she spoke understandable words: "I'm so sorry sensei, but there is nothing I can do. Her chakra system has deteriorated too far. She has maybe a few minutes left."

Kakashi and Obito both looked at her with tear filled eyes, while Kushina struggled to get up: "If that's all I have left then I rather use them to help save my family and my village." She stiffly went through hand seals before forming her Adamantine Sealing Chains to form a barrier and to assist in binding the fox for a sealing.

Minato spoke up: "I need all of you over here. Rin, help Kushina get over here." All of them listened and obeyed.

Obito got there first to which Minato responded: "Obito, place the seal for the Kamui Marker on Naruto. I'm gonna make a socket to go around the seal I'm going to place on Naruto to fully contain the fox within the type of seal I'm going to place, we're going to merge the formula for your marker into its architecture." Obito nodded and placed his hand on Naruto stomach and molded chakra to create his Kamui marker and once he was done, Minato placed his hand and channeled chakra to his son's stomach and to make the socket.

Minato spoke again "Kushina, you and I are going to seal a part of our chakra into his seal as fail-safes. Mine to repair the seal should it be compromised, and yours to help him when he inevitably fight the Kyubi for control of its power. If you have anything you want him to know when he meets you, think it as you're transferring the chakra." Kushina wanted to argue and tell him to seal it in her to allow Kushina to take the fox down with her to give them time to prepare to seal the fox when it returned, but the look he had told her it would not work anyways, and deep down she knew he was right.

Obito asked "Sensei, how did you know that the hypnosis would work?"

Minato responded: "The Fox was extracted by a rogue Uchiha who claimed to be Madara, he put the fox under a genjutsu to control it and summoned it within Konoha. I defeated him and severed his connection to the Fox but he is still alive and promised to be back. I guessed it would work after remembering your Mangekyo."

After his explanation, the process of sealing their chakras was complete. "Finally I need you three to place your hands on the socket and sync your chakra with mine, it will make it so that your chakra, without irregularities present, can be used to open up the architecture and modify it should the need arise." The three students nodded and did as they were told.

Minato began talking once they finished: "Here comes both the hardest and easiest part: I have to use Shiki Fuin to seal the fox. I wouldn't have to use it if the Kyubi wasn't uncontained, I have methods that could be used to transfer it. Shiki Fuin is the only sealing method I have that can drag the fox into the socket we created and seal it with the seal it will create. After the seal is created I'll summoned a scroll toad and place the Key on it have it go to Jiraiya-sensei."

They wanted to argue but they knew it wasn't an argument they could win. Rin spoke first: "Goodbye Sensei." before hugging him, Obito and Kakashi joined in and told their own tearful goodbye.

The Yondaime Hokage eventually pushed away to begin the sealing. He rushed through the hand seals and summoned the Shinigami, the god of death, once he finished. The harvester of souls moved its hand to Naruto, placing its hand on his stomach in the middle of the pre-prepared socket pushing its hand in and sprouting out through the socket as well and rushing to the fox and grabbing it and beginning to pull it into the seal.

The cold presence of the Shinigami's touch caused Naruto to cry and the ghastly force pulling it into the array snapped the Fox out of the genjutsu controlling it.

Within the depths of Rin's seal, the Three Tails sat in contemplation within its cell, happy to see his brother again through Rin's eyes but saddened it was due to him being locked away again.

_**It has been a while Kurama.**_

To the Turtle's surprise a voice answered back

_**Isobu? It is you isn't it. Indeed it has. But where am I? The last thing I remember is being extracted from that Uzumaki woman by that masked bastard. Wait, why is there a baby on that altar that looks like the sealing altar? NOOOO! I WON'T BE IMPRISONED AGAIN!**_

The turtle could only watch in horrified realization of what his brother planned on doing

_**DON'T DO IT! That child is innocent!**_

_**NONE OF THIS PUTRID, DISGUSTING RACE THAT REFUSES TO CHANGE IS INNOCENT! I WILL KILL THEM ALL!**_

The chains still binding the fox had weakened due to Kushina's declining state and her fractioned chakra.

With a mighty effort, the fox broke free and lunged its claw forward to kill the Uzumaki child they sought to seal him in.

Minato and Kushina both rushed forward using their bodies to protect Naruto, impaling themselves to keep their son safe.

Minato pulled the last of his chakra to summon the scroll toad Gerotora, and placed the key to the seal on the scroll toad's unwrapped body. The toad wrapped the scroll that was part of it before vanishing to store himself within Jiraiya.

And with that the Kyubi was pulled into the seal and Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina passed from this world. Kushina passed to the pure world while Minato passed to the Shinigami's stomach, the two lovers separated for eternity most likely.

All while their newborn son cried for his now dead parents.

Rin picked him up and held him trying to calm him, the moment she turned her back the altar unsummoned itself. "There, there. Nee-chan's here to take care of you."

Naruto calmed down somewhat at that, while his new siblings moved to begin carrying out their sensei's final order to them. Conceal Naruto's jinchuriki status from others to protect him from the harsh treatment he would inevitably be subjected to should that information be known, and from any of those who would seek to use said treatment to break him and turn him into their weapon.

Their newest mission had begun.

The last mission given to them by their sensei.

They would not fail.

No sooner than a minute after they left to establish the alibi they were told to give, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and a group of jonins arrived at the remains of the hideout to discover the carnage, and the bloodied and broken bodies of Minato and Kushina.

Xxx

_An hour later_

Hiruzen sat in the council chamber, reinstated as the Hokage in the wake of Minato's death.

The matter at hand was the rogue actions of his three students that had escaped from the area they had kept the young ninjas. They had returned 4 minutes ago, carrying a baby who was Minato and Kushina's son that they only revealed that to Hiruzen, a scroll containing Minato's final orders to Konoha, and finally a storage scroll they claimed contained somethings they would want to see.

The words of the letter it was contained in somewhat displeased Hiruzen on what he wanted to do after he was told of the Nine Tails' newest jinchuriki.

It placed a total gag order on any information regarding the existence of the newest Nine Tails Jinchuriki, under penalty of death in any situation should the Hokage release the information in any way besides key exceptions that could not be manufactured or engineered.

Hiruzen wanted to tell the public of Konoha that it was safe from the Nine Tails because it was imprisoned inside a child, but the order had forbidden it.

It also extended the gag order to any jinchuriki that Konoha was forced to create afterwards and to any they took in from other villages.

But distressingly it gave confirmation that key members of both ANBU and the Hokage Guard Platoon had been given orders to kill the sitting Hokage should this order be violated, with only Rin, Obito, or Kakshi having the authority to overturn the order.

"What is in the storage scroll?" he asked them. Obito unsealed the contents and quite a few gasped in shock: the dead bodies of multiple ANBU as well as Sarutobi Biwako, Hiruzen's wife. "What is the meaning of this?" cried one of the clan heads

Kakashi responded: "We escaped from the guards to find the place where Kushina was giving birth, when we arrived we found all these dead bodies along with little Naruto there crying his eyes out and two scrolls: one for us and us alone and then one for you Hokage-sama and Hokage-sama alone." Hiruzen nodded.

Before he could respond, Danzo cut in: "I find it hard to believe that Kushina would leave the care of her child, the last known Uzumaki, to three 15 year olds, especially an Uchiha miscreant. I move to have custody of Naruto removed from them and placed with someone else, perhaps Ari Seto." Hiruzen sighed mentally, thinking to himself: _'I know better than to trust you on that Danzo, Ari-san was the public identity of Ant, one of your highest and most loyal subordinates in ROOT before I ordered it disbanded before the end of my previous term.'_ "Danzo your motion is denied and if you suggest or try to pull it again, you will be dismissed from any position you hold." Danzo frowned but nodded.

Obito looked extremely angry and offended, before calming down and downing a predatory smirk: "I find it strange that you directly mentioned that one of the reasons you wanted Kushina's will overturned was because I'm an Uchiha. I wonder why you would mention that in particular. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that your inferiority complex tells you that even if Tobirama-sama didn't chose Hiruzen-sama to be the Sandaime, my relative and Shisui's great-grandfather Uchiha Kagame would have most likely been his next choice before you despite his hatred and distrust of the Uchiha. A hatred and distrust you not only inherited but have taken to such extremes that you know even Tobirama-sama would disapprove of."

The council went quiet as crypt, everyone's eyes went wide as they slowly turned to Danzo to see the normally stoic elder burning with rage with an expression on his face that screamed that Obito was right in his accusations and had nailed Danzo completely.

Before the cripple could respond, he was cut off by Hiruzen: "Shimura Danzo, respond to Obito and you're finished." Danzo grit his teeth and snarled: "As you wish Hokage-sama."

Before anyone else could cut in, Rin spoke: "Hokage-sama, could we be excused? We have things to take care of, especially this little one." Hiruzen nodded and added: "You may, if anyone has any other business, it can wait till an early morning session tomorrow." Everyone nodded and began leaving.

Hyuga Hiashi left his chair and began to make his way to his compound to check on his wife Hitomi, who was pregnant with their first child, and to regretfully inform her of their friends Minato and Kushina's passing, along with the good news of their son's survival. As he left the door, the voice of an old friend called out to him: "Hiashi." Hiashi turned to see Uchiha Fugaku walking over to him. "Fugaku." Hiashi responded acknowledging the old friend.

Fugaku responded "I hope your clan didn't suffer any heavy losses, mine suffered some minor losses when the Fox first appeared, and everyone else went to helping with the evacuation effort."

Hiashi nodded before responding: "Mine had a similar situation. I'm just thankful Hitomi wasn't harmed." Fugaku nodded: "I'm thankful that I don't have to tell Mikoto that two of her dearest friends passed away on the same night."

Hiashi nodded before saying something else: "I never knew young Obito could be that vicious. The few times I had actually had extended contact with him he seemed to be He almost seemed to be a different person."

Fugaku nodded before grinning: "I always wondered why Mikoto was always so found of Obito, I never knew he could be that way. He used to boast about wanting to be the first Uchiha Hokage, and I couldn't help but think what an embarrassment he would be, but after tonight I think he would do the job just fine."

Hiashi nodded before he went to end the conversation: "I'm sorry old friend but I must end this here."

Fugaku nodded before responding: "I must as well, see you tomorrow."

Danzo left plotting how to take control of Naruto and get a war to gain jinchuriki to strengthen themselves against the loss they just incurred. _'Perhaps Kumo would be a worthy pawn, they have always desired an Uzumaki to breed. Perhaps they will take the bait. I'll get a war with them and the last Uzumaki for when the Fox returns and to breed a new Uzumaki clan for my purposes once he is old enough.'_

End chapter 1

**Holy HELL! THIS TOOK FOREVER TO FINISH. This document was created on 4-9-2019 and wasn't finished until 10-20-2019. No notes I'm exhausted.**

**Final editing finished on 1-1-2020. Upload occurred later that day.**

**Change Log (3-10-2020): I fixed a flub regarding the story. Specifically, the original began an explanation into the Kamui Marker but for some reason it was cut out. Probably due to working while I was half asleep or punch drunk.**

**Until Next Time:**

**SEE YA LATER!**


	2. The Encroaching Storm Clouds

Seals of Fate

**No funny notes. Don't own Naruto. Started writing on 10-20-2019 at 3:38 pm, after finishing the previous chapter.**

**Editing note: Holy crap! When I put up the first chapter yesterday I wasn't expecting to get the amount of traffic and certainly wasn't expecting to get any reviews. Shout outs to Gundam Meister Uzumaki and ShadowDeathSkull who were my first and second reviewers respectively. This chapter will be providing some answers to the questions you asked.**

Chapter 2

The Encroaching Storm Clouds

_2 and a half weeks after the Kyubi attack_

Rin had been exhausted ever since the attack.

Dealing with the heartache of losing both her father and mother figures had been the first battle she had to deal with. She felt bad for Obito and Kakashi who were suffering from the same heartache, but at the same time she was thankful to whatever god there was that they had each other to help themselves through it.

Rin shuddered when she thought about what could have happened to them individually without each other to help support them through it, especially Kakashi. This was the second time he lost his father figure, and the first time he lost his mother-figure.

She could imagine what would become of him as though her mind was able to peel back the fabric of reality and see the parallel world where the possibility had happened. She saw him as a broken shell of a man, with a suicidal desire but no will to end it by his own hand, instead seeking out the most dangerous missions to have others do it for him and failing because he always put the most into his missions. She knew he had some unsavory habits he indulged in private but this shell she could see had become so broken as to not care if the world saw him reading Jiraiya's smut books in public.

Unmotivated. Only waking up each day out of habit.

She put away that train of thought for another day, hopefully never to be re-continued and permanently forgotten.

The other half of the battle was taking care of Naruto. The little guy could eat so much it was a wonder he wasn't getting overweight even with his Jinchuriki status, he was a little picky but not enough that it was a danger to finances. Taking care of babies as genin did little to prepare the young jonins for having to take care of a newly born infant almost 24/7. Uchiha Mikoto volunteering her help and experience to help lighten the load and teach them the deeper parts of the job despite having an infant of her own was a gift of the gods.

Rin was finally starting to understand what all needed to be done. Between Mikoto volunteering and Kakashi's ninja hounds living in the house to help watch the little guy when they weren't around gave them enough time on their own to do low rank and short assignments that could be completed within a day.

Wherever Hiruzen-sama was getting the funds to give them extra money than the mission payouts should have been, she did not know but she was not complaining.

The few chances they had to train revealed some new developments for Kakashi and Obito. Kakashi had begun experimenting with altering the sustaining flow of chakra to the chidori once the blade was created in specific ways. It revealed some strange changes that could be applied to the assassination technique, one particular alterations made the blade incredibly long, trading some of its piercing power for significant range.

Obito's training with the mangekyo revealed the awakening of the third and final standard ability of the Mangekyo: Susano'o. Obito had awakened the Amaterasu flames and the Tsukuyomi genjutsu over the 2 years since awakening the Mangekyo, however Kamui was the first technique he had upon activation. He could only manifest a small ribcage to protect himself at the moment, but he could momentarily manifest either one or two arms of the skeletal portion of the construct.

Hiruzen theorized that the sudden awakening was a result of the grief he suffered from Minato and Kushina's deaths, but that grief alone wasn't enough to push Obito to begin fully manifesting the skeleton of the Storm God's avatar or evolve it beyond that.

This however exposed a turn of events that Obito had been hiding from everyone who knew about his Mangekyo: each use was slowly blinding him.

He had been undergoing treatment for eyesight problems to help either repair some of the damage or delay the blinding until a permanent solution could be found, if one existed. Rin asked him why and his answer was slightly shocking: _"You're always worrying about us, but I didn't want you to worry about this, not with how much I care about you." Rin questioned: "What are you saying?" Obito smiled almost ruefully: "I'm saying that I love you, I have been in love with you for a long time now but I never told you because you were always interested in Kakashi. I figured that if I told you it would tear our little family apart, so I decided that I'd rather be miserable then to be responsible for tearing all of us apart. You don't have to respond if you don't want to, but I needed to tell you that." _

Rin always knew that Obito was a nice guy, but he tended to be reckless about most things. After hearing that confession and thinking about her memories of him, she realized that what he said was true. She ruminated on what Obito meant to her before an unwanted interruption shook her from her thoughts: **I'll never fully understand you humans and your concept of romance and all the worry you attach to it. **

'_Geez, I was wondering why you hadn't been so chatty today, Sanbi. Ever since the Kyubi was stopped you have been a lot chattier than you've been since you were sealed in me 2 years ago.' _**Rude. I was quiet because something entered my sensory range that I recognize and I wanted to figure out what it is. I still haven't figured it out what it is. So best be on your guard. **_'I will. Thanks Turtle.'_** I like being called Turtle rather than Sanbi. **_'Noted but don't blame me. You never said that before.' _

"Hey Rin." The Sanbi Jinchuriki looked over to see both Obito and Kakashi waiting for her at the door of the house they lived, Minato's house he left to them.

As they entered they noticed something very alarming. "PAKUN!" the hound was slumped over, eyes open, in an uncomfortable position. Kakashi examined him and found him to be in a Genjutsu. Rin and Obito darted to Naruto's room to find the rest of Kakashi's hounds under the same genjutsu and Naruto's empty crib.

Obito activated his sharingan and focused on each one after the other: "Genjutsu Shaingan: Release!" the hounds roused immediately. Kakashi and Pakun ran in soon after, the look in Kakashi's eye told his friends that he already knew what had happened and figured out what the plan was: Hunting season, and Obito had the perfect means to find their prey. Rin grabbed hold of Obito and Kakashi while the hounds cluttered around them knowing the drill that was about to be done.

"Kamui!" and the spiral shaped spatial hole opened and swallowed them into the Kamui World.

The hunt had begun.

Xxx

_The Raikage doesn't know about your mission nor does he need to know about it._

_We're correcting the failings of our predecessors in claiming the Uzumaki bloodline for Kumo._

_Take the Uzumaki child for Kumo._

_Ensure no one follows or finds out it was us._

That had been the summary of the debriefing that the team from the Black Ops division had received when they were given an assignment to make an incursion into the Land of Fire following an intelligence leak from Konoha.

The black ops division decided to send one of its four man teams without the Raikage's approval to prevent blowback should they be discovered and end up failing.

What everyone questioned was how the division leader managed to recruit Ni'i Yugito for a fifth member. More than likely she had been tricked into believing the mission was known to the Raikage but he decided to look the other way.

When they were within 8 miles of Konoha, one member of the black ops team broke off to ensure a means of safe and mostly undetectable escape, and to destroy evidence should the worst occur.

Everything had gone smoothly until they were within reach for the extraction of the target.

Then Yugito started getting info about the target from the Nibi.

To her surprise, the child was also the current Kyubi jinchuriki in addition to being one of the last members of the Uzumaki clan.

Shortly afterwards the mission was just about compromised when Nibi began being detected by someone she referred to as her elder brother.

Then they broke in and J put the ninken watching the target into a genjutsu.

They slipped out completely undetected except for a handful of strange Konoha ANBU dressed significantly different from the standard Leaf ANBU uniform who let them pass for some reason.

Then Z screamed for the group to start moving as fast as they could until they reached the 4 mile mark. When they reached that mark he explained to the group that those strange ANBU were ROOT agents, members of Konoha's deep black ops unit, whose leader was confirmed to be the leak.

Everyone began looking over their shoulder in anticipation for the catch after that tidbit.

Marui, the Storm Release user of the group, began complaining about not being able to "Kill some fucking tree huggers."

All things considered, it was going very well.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, they were just about 5 miles away from Konoha travelling at a leisurely pace to ensure no suspicion when Yugito's instincts began screaming.

Her instincts saved her when the spatial hole opened up and spat out the dogs from the house they abducted the child from, as well as three shinobi, all of whom looked to be pissed. Their Killing Intent skyrocketed when they looked at Yugito and saw she was holding the child.

At this point Yugito recognized who they were: _'Team Minato, collectively nicknamed the Seals of Fate for their collective mastery of Fuinjutsu: Uchiha Obito, Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi, and Nohara Rin. Dammit Marui, you just had to start wishing that we got a chance to "kill some fucking tree huggers" and then you jinxed us at the eleventh hour.' _

**The girl with the brown hair and purple marks on her cheeks, she has the Sanbi inside her. **

'_Of all the ways my day could get fucked up it had to be this shitty way.'_

Yugito slipped into her fighting stance as soon as she saw both the Copy Nin and Rin do the same.

'_But if they want the target back then they're going to have to get through me first. This will be easy.'_

Xxx

Obito had been the first one to notice the blonde bitch holding Naruto. It took everything the Uchiha had to not go off screaming and murder the bitch where she stood to save him. The moment he took to stare gave him valuable information. '_One of the men has the Kanji for water, lightning, and storm tattooed onto his arms. Most likely he's from Kumo's Storm Release Bloodline. This group, they're from Kumo, they have the looks standard to Kumo and the Land of Lightning, but they aren't wearing their forehead protectors or any other identifying symbol, which means they're here on a black ops mission. The blonde bitch holding Naruto is Ni'i Yugito, a special jonin and the Nibi Jinchuriki. If she is here, than someone pretty high up in Kumo must have ordered this mission. This will be hell but we can work this so long as we divide and conquer._'

Obito stood there and smirked saying: "Alright funny joke. Handover our brother and your deaths will be painless."

That pissed off the Storm release Shinobi who began making rapid fire hand seals while spitting some insult about Konoha Tree Huggers.

Obito watched closely with his sharingan to figure out which jutsu the man was going to use before he finished: '_He's going to use a melee range Storm Release technique. Fist of the Rushing Storm by the looks of it. I can grab him, do a quick blow to his face to disorient him, Kamui him, and pop into the Kamui world at the same time to soften him up and detain him._'

Obito's prediction proved right when the man charged forward screaming: "Storm Release: Fist of the Rushing Storm!" causing a mini storm to gather around his fist with lightning cracking frequently. Obito quickly countered with a punch to the man's face after grabbing him by his forearm which was not covered by the jutsu, and quickly did a point blank Kamui to warp both himself and his target to the Kamui world leaving the other two kumo shinobi and Yugito to Kakashi, the hounds, and Rin.

The man regained his senses by the time Obito fully manifested within the Kamui World, and he screamed: "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLACE?!"

Obito calmly replied: "This is the Kamui world, a world created by my Mangekyo Sharingan and its special ability unique to it: Kamui. This place will either be your grave or your prison until we get back to Konoha, for you won't be leaving unless I allow it. And I have no intention of letting you leave this place un-condemned."

Obito decided to test out one of his toys he had been neglecting to use in combat against single opponents ever since gaining it. The man blindly rushed at Obito who swiftly countered and pinned the man in such a way to force him to make eye contact with Obito who whispered the last words this man would hear in reality for a very long time from his perspective: "Tsukuyomi."

With that word Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan bore into the man's soul and then the world around them was supplanted by a ghastly landscape that could only be described as the nether realm Yomi from the traditional legends of mankind's origin. In the blood red sky was a blackened moon with the Mangekyo symbol for Kamui imposed onto it.

The Storm release user quickly weaved more hand seals and screamed: "Storm Release: Laser Circus!" and fired off a barrage of blue colored laser projectiles. But chains rose up and destroyed the projectiles before rushing him and pulling him to a thin cross like post and then tightly binding him to it.

Panic and fear were worsened when he remembered how this hell scape came to be, and grew far greater when he heard the Uchiha's voice: "Welcome to the world of Tsukuyomi."

Obito let his Killing Intent run wild, with a murderous grin on his face and the man who was clearly a year older than him was sweating with fear.

Obito continued his speech: "This is one of the strongest Genjutsus that a Sharingan can generate, and one of the strongest genjutsus every created, but can only be used after evolving into the Mangekyo. Within this world, the controller of the genjutsu is like one of the kami, controlling all the things that exist in this hellish world: time, space, memories, imagination, and pain. I can only maintain the illusion for 24 hours in the perspective of normal time-space, but a second here is far different than what we perceive as one in the real world and can last far longer than how eggheads measured to be a second in reality. Will you tell me everything I want to know to be spared of the torture that is about to unfold? What I wish to know is who sent you and why?"

The man attempted to do a Genjutsu release to break the illusion, when it failed he attempted to inflict pain on himself to snap back to his sense but that failed as well.

"What the hell? If this is a genjutsu then everything I've done should have broken it."

"Apparently you were not listening when I said that Tsukuyomi is one of the strongest genjutsus ever created. You cannot break free by any method. Now will you answer my questions?"

The Storm Release user growled between grit teeth: "Fuck you tree hugger, I'll make sure you're here for the full twenty four hours!"

Obito then allowed malice to seep into his voice which had been even till now: "Fun fact that I didn't mention earlier: no matter how long we are in this illusion, in real time it will only be 3 or 4 seconds. Then everything that happened gets forcefully jammed into your head all at once while it gets gently put into mine. A true master can make the illusion last for three days and each second last upwards of 18 hours, with the sudden shock of the memories being forced into their head killing most people. For the 24 hours I control, each second lasts an hour. But the Mangekyo evolves in certain emotional circumstances, and limits might very well be shifting and being broken as we speak because I'm **FURIOUS!** For twenty four hours or however long I now control, you shall be consumed by crows." As Obito said this crows began circling overhead.

"The second will end when they have consumed every last bit of meat from your bones, you will feel every last bite being stripped from your body and you will feel the pain of the carrions digesting you. Let us begin."

The storm release user's screams filled the nether realm until the first second ended.

Then it was filled with his crying: "I'll talk." His voice said while he trying to recover from the horror he had been subjected to.

"Good, who sent you?" Obito stated his question.

"It was Shumo Hideki." The storm release user responded

"That doesn't tell me much." Obito countered.

"He's Kumo's deep black ops commander, Kumo doesn't have an outright division like Konoha does, as far as I know, just a few specially trained groups. The man's our equivalent of Danzo." The broken ninja stated

"That tells me a lot but doesn't answer the why part of my question." Obito stated

"He was the commander of the group sent years ago to kidnap Uzumaki Kushina, his son Shumo Arashi was the field leader of the group." The storm release user answered

"So he is out for revenge and Kumo's advancement while he's at it. Anything else I need to know?" Obito summarized and then asked to which his prisoner just nodded before responding.

"The mission was sent after we received an intel leak from Konoha just over two weeks ago. We followed up and found that it came from Danzo. Our superiors decided to go ahead with it. While we were escaping, we saw men that one of us identified as agents from ROOT, the division that Danzo runs within Konoha's ANBU. That is everything I know."

"Then we're done here. Release!" and the world collapsed and they were kicked back to reality, the strain of the mental torture knocking out the prisoner, after which Obito restrained the man.

Obito began sensing to observe the flow of battle, waiting for the right opportunity to warp into the real world to take back Naruto and bring him here.

But when did his hands get clenched so hard that they ached?

Xxx

Rin and Kakshi stood before Yugito and her two partners that Obito didn't drag into the Kamui World. Rin weighed her options on what to do before eventually rushing Yugito to engage in taijutsu to get Naruto away from her. Kakashi rushed down her partner with his Lightning Cloak engaged increasing his speed and striking power, adding a lightning element to his taijutsu and Non-Lightning Ninjutsu while cutting the chakra cost and molding time for Lightning Release.

The other Kumo shinobi was slowly herded away from the other two by Kakashi's hounds. They were after his blood for trapping them in a genjutsu and making them look weak to Kakashi. There was hell to be paid.

Rin opened with a punch that Yugito swiftly dodged and countered with a kick meant to either disorient her or distract her. Either way Rin countered by going low and sweeping Yugito's other leg, which worked like a charm.

Yugito quickly regained her balance and landed in a crouch before moving Naruto to her backpack and securing him so she could make free use of her hands and arms. The Nibi Jinchuriki quickly went through hand seals before screaming: "Fire Release: Blue Great Fireball Jutsu!" spewing out a giant blue flame that drew Nibi chakra to power it, Rin countered with hand seals of her own screaming: "Water Release: High Pressure Water Bullet!" Blowing out a massive high powered stream of water, cancelling out the fireball and doing some minor damage to Yugito.

During this chaos, Kakashi's Ninkens managed to isolate one of the weaker Kumo nins from the others and managed to push the man to the ground before all the hounds each bit into him, restraining his hands from forming hand seals, and began pulling. The man screamed for help but his teammates were too busy dealing with their own battles to help him and within the minute his body gave and was torn apart by the hounds. Getting revenge for him putting them into the genjutsu.

Before Yugito could get up from the last attack, another Kamui portal opened up and Obito came out and grabbed Naruto off her back: "I'll be taking Naruto back thank you." Before vanishing back into the Kamui world. Yugito began tapping into Nibi's power, forming her two tailed version 1 cloak around her as she fired off the Nibi's flaming hairballs which turned into little blue flaming mice which charged Rin who countered by powering up to her three-tailed Version 1 Cloak and firing off more water bullets to put out the seemingly mobile fireballs.

About this time Kakashi tricked his opponent into rushing him for a taijutsu skirmish by making him believe he was gathering chakra for his next attack before quickly forming a Chidori and performing one of the known useable alterations, that had been tested against clone combatants, to take advantage of his feints success.

He screamed the name of the jutsu, which was the last thing the man ever heard: "Chidori Sharp Spear!" before the man died almost instantaneously by the complete destruction of his heart.

By this point Obito had re-emerged from the Kamui world with his Mangekyo blazing. Kakashi quickly issued orders to Pakun and his pack: "Get inside the Kamui world and protect Naruto, I have a feeling that things are really about to heat up." The dogs quickly acknowledged and went to Obito who activated his Kamui and vacuumed the ninja hounds up.

Yugito, seeing as she was backed into a corner even with the dogs being taken out of the fight, began tapping even deeper into Nibi's power, transforming into her version 2 cloak and pulling bones from her body to from claws and a skull to increase power and protection. Obito began letting his rage at the attempted kidnapping leak out, his Susano'o bursting to life and fully manifesting its skeleton for the first time.

The brawl began anew.

**Meanwhile in Konoha**

Someone began sensing the chakra being emitted by all four combatant, they quickly donned their uniform and began quickly making their way to the battle scarred field that was being made.

They prayed that they would make it in time.

**Concurrently 2 miles away from the battlefield**

The fifth member of the group raced through the trees.

He had detected the initial shots of the battle through his sensory.

Usually in this situation, the mission would be scrubbed and he would be destroying evidence and making a break for it but Yugito participation as well as avenging the failure from years prior overtook the normally cautious black ops agent and he began rushing in an attempt to salvage the mission.

**Back at the battleground**

Even with the power team Minato had pulled out in an attempt to match the Kumo team, the raw power that Yugito was now channeling rendered it almost pointless.

Any Fire Release thrown at her would just be absorbed and strengthen her.

Water release thrown by either Kakashi or Obito was almost worthless against the raw power of Nibi's Fire release. Rin's Sanbi enhanced Water Release was holding slightly better against the Near Release State Yugito's Fire Release, but ultimately all Rin could do was stalemate the Kumo Jinchuriki.

Physical blows were either cushioned by the chakra cloak to the point of ineffective or completely blocked by the bone armor.

The one saving grace was that Yugito's mind was being degraded by the form, obviously she never trained to fully control the Near Release State, skipping it in favor of the far bigger Biju mode than made her a legend for defending Kumo from invasion in the most recent war.

Rin's two years of being the vessel of the stronger Sanbi who had the elemental advantage over Nibi was outdone by Yugito's much larger pool of experience due to having the Nibi for the majority of her life and holding a few years on Rin and her teammates.

Before Rin had a chance to recover, the feral Kumo Jinchuriki rushed her and slashed at her with the bone claws she had formed.

Rin was barely able to get out of the way enough to avoid mortal damage or outright maiming, but her right arm took a nasty scratch on the surface. Any deeper and it would have been worrying.

Out of options, Rin began tapping further into Sanbi's power, hoping to achieve Version 2 and use her rage to guide the state towards Yugito and beat her by overwhelming her.

As Rin began digging deep to unleash this power she found herself not on the battlefield but in the aqueduct prison cell of the Sanbi, who was staring at her most curious as if contemplating a potentially life changing choice.

"Why did you bring me here Turtle?" Rin asked trying to make it sound as politely as possible even though she was in no mood for it, but she didn't want to offend the Biju and have it cut off all chance of her victory.

"**Why did you decide that you wanted to be a Shinobi of Konohagakure?" **

Rin found herself caught slightly off guard but decided to answer after a moment of contemplation: "I wanted to be a shinobi to prevent people from having to suffer, to heal those I could, and to punish those who harm people under my protection like Naruto."

Sanbi tilted his head as if contemplating that answer before following up: **"Why do you insist on fighting this Ni'i Yugito, despite the fact that you could run and nothing would be lost now that little Naruto is safe?" **

"Because if I allowed her to escape, she goes back to Kumo with the information about my and Naruto's Jinchuriki statuses and Obito's Mangekyo, she will be sent back with a new team to try again, even if it is not ordered by the Raikage, and this time she'll be gunning for him and me as well. She knows too much to be allowed to live, or to return to Kumo without having that information removed by a Yamanaka, and even then her Biju will still remember and if they're on good enough terms it'll be much worse. We can't let her leave, and she's completely loyal to Kumo, she has to be dealt with." Rin answered resolutely.

Sanbi nodded in response before almost smiling at Rin and telling a story: **"A very longtime ago there were two sages, brothers, who held an incredible ability for their day and still would be considered incredible by today's standards due to their skill: the ability to mold and manipulate an essence called Chakra by combining their physical energies with their spiritual energies.**

**The elder of the two brothers was called Hagoromo and he was given the title the Sun Sage and the younger was called Hamura and he was given the title the Moon Sage. **

**They used this power they possessed to challenge a terrible monster called the Jyubi, the Ten-tailed manifestation of the Shinju, or the Divine World Tree, that sought to take this power back from them after they were born with it from their mother breaking a divine taboo and eating of the tree's fruit. In the end they defeated the creature after a long conflict and sealed it's chakra inside the Sun Sage, separating it from its body and turning the now empty shell into a statue. **

**From that day forward he was called the Sage of Six Paths due to the power he had awoken during the fight. He began teaching a discipline to those who would listen called Ninshu, and used his great power to give others the ability to mold chakra.**

**He believed that through his teachings and the potential held by chakra, peace could be achieved by having everyone understand one another. **

**When the end of his life drew near the Sage drew upon the power of his eyes that he had awoken while fighting the Jyubi: the Rinnegan, and split the power of the Jyubi into 9 fragments and gave them each their own name, shape, and existence. **

**He gave them life, each one chose a purpose towards creating the world the man they acknowledged as their father dreamed of before he drew his final breath mere minutes after birthing his strange children, younger than the two sons he fathered and whose bloodlines live on to this day under far different clan names than what their name originally was. **

**The two brothers' clan's name as well as that of their descendants for some time was Otsutsuki. The clan brought the all-seeing Byakugan to this world and all the Hyugas are descended from the Moon Sage while Hagoromo-tou-san's descendants are the Senju and the Uzumaki by his youngest son Ashura, and the Uchiha by his eldest son Indra." **

Rin stood processing the story before she realized the implications of Turtle's last Statement: "You called him Tou-san, does that mean?"

Turtle nodded: **"Yes, the Biju are the 9 fragments. We were meant to be the protectors of mankind and the ones to guide it as my father wished, but after seeing the depths of darkness that mankind was capable of, we began to give up. **

**The more extreme like Kurama the Kyubi and Shukaku the Ichibi began killing humans in masse, at first trying to purge the corruption before giving up on that but still killing because of how disappointed they were in humans for failing Hagoromo's wishes."**

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"**The purpose I chose for myself was to be a protector and healer. To protect all those who sought protection where I dwelt in peace, and to punish those who came after them in the name of evil. Killing only those who were lost causes, who were too dangerous to be left alive. I'm telling all this to you girl because I believe you are the first human I have been sealed within for a very long time to truly deserve my power, as my purpose and yours are truly the same in my eyes. I would be glad to lend my power free of charge. We still have to hammer out our relationship for you to truly begin tapping my power and using it to its full potential but for now what we have will do." **

"Thank you, but if we're going to do this, we need to have it on terms we can both agree on."

The Turtle looked at her like she was crazy, she could tell he was confused at what she meant.

'_Good thing Sensei gave me the key to the seal he made to replace the original seal on me for when this day came, I just wish he was here to see the day he was proven right that I could be friends with the Turtle.' _

Rin unzipped her Flak jacket before lifting up her shirt, forming a hand seal to make the Sanbi's imprisoning seal visible on her stomach. She held out her hand and kanji began to form and water coalesced at her finger tips.

Sanbi's eyes went wide at the realization of what she was doing. Collapsing the part of the seal that separated them and kept it contained in her mindscape.

Rin clutched her seal and twisted hard. Sounds began to echo throughout the cell. Hinges starting to remove the rust and safety locks that prevented them from moving in the slightest, chains that were invisible and kept the Sanbi bound to his cell became visible and unbound from the Turtle, and the sealing note covering the lock combusted and revealed the lock mechanism, which began to undo itself. Once the lock was gone, the doors swung open and then the cell bars rotted and sank into the floor removing them from the landscape.

The aqueduct vanished, replaced by a giant tranquil turtle pond where Sanbi could rest.

The creature almost began crying in joy, before noticing Rin standing in front of him, she gave a deep respectful bow before saying: "Hello, my name is Nohara Rin. What's yours?" the Sanbi gave as much of a bow as it could before it responded: **"It is very nice to meet you Rin-chan, my name is Isobu. Seeing as I have been crashing here without paying any real form of rent for 2 years, how about I give you a gift of my appreciation."** Isobu gestured and in a wave, red chakra rushed off of the turtle and began enveloping Rin, erasing the aches and pains that the brawl with Yugito had inflicted.

She looked at the place on her arm where Yugito managed to scratch her with her bone claws and saw the open wound healing shut.

But the chakra didn't stop there and soon Rin began to feel stronger than she had ever felt.

"Whoa! What was that?"

**A gift of my appreciation, I fixed what I could and eased what I couldn't from your bout with Yugito before you began trying to reach Version 2 and after that I merged a piece of my power into your chakra, allowing you access to a piece of my power even if you're cut off from it. It will grow with time, and tending to it will see it grow big and strong, like a plant. And with time I'll replenish that small piece given to you.**

"Thank you for the kind gift, Isobu." Rin said with absolute sincerity

Isobu moved his right claw towards her in a balled up fist, the gesture was for something that was eluding her.

"**Put your fist against mine. Our thoughts will sync and nothing else will need to be said for now, no lies can exist in this."**

Rin did as she was told by her friend, and then she could hear the Turtle's thoughts, however one stood out amongst the rest:

'_**Wherever you lead, I shall follow, even to the ends of the earth and back.'**_

Rin thoughts gave her response for that statement: _'We are no longer prisoner and jailor, we are equals, and we are partners from now on! Starting today, we face everything the world has for us together!"_

Isobu nodded at that before pulling his fist back grabbing her, lifting her up, and setting Rin down on his head.

"NOW LET'S GO TAKE THAT BITCH DOWN!"

Isobu responded with a roar and sending his chakra into Rin's system.

What they had wasn't perfect but it would do for now.

Xxx

Obito and Kakashi were forced to take over the fight due to Rin's unexpected conversation with the Turtle. Obito's rage at what he had learned from that Kumo bastard he interrogated with Tsukuyomi had begun to seep out causing his Susano'o to start maturing, gaining muscles, a demonic visage on its already demonic looking skull, and a weapon by pulling out one of its ribs which regenerated and molded the extracted bone into a lance.

Had Obito been in any other situation he probably would have commented on the gruesome way his manifestation of Susano'o had created its weapon, but now he couldn't care about anything other than punishing the woman who had been the key part in the plan to take away Minato-sensei and Kushina-sensei's son. Kakashi had uncovered his Sharingan to help even the odds, despite having the Lightning Cloak activated at the same time which created a massive drain on his chakra reserves.

Obito could tell without even asking that Kakashi was having the same train of thought as himself. _'Pity that Yugito isn't fully transforming into Nibi right now, I know she can because she stopped an invasion of Kumo during the last war by doing that to stop an army. I could probably use my Mangekyo to hypnotize the Biju and make finishing this fight even easier. She seems to be putting everything she has into this form and restraining herself to it rather than going further to win this fight. My bet is that Nibi knows that the Mangekyo can control Biju, and they must figure that if they bring out Nibi's full form, then she might be vulnerable to Mangekyo control. We'll just have to keep fighting.' _

And with that Kakashi and Obito shared a brief glance and nodded to each other, already knowing the plan. Kakashi rushed down Yugito hoping to provoke her with a feint that would leave her open to an attack from Obito. She took the bait as hoped showing that Kakashi's analysis of her declining mental state of awareness due to exposure to the Nibi's chakra in such a large concentration at once and over the time they had been fighting without fully transforming had reduced her to acting mostly on muscle memory and ingrained battle instincts.

Obito quickly capitalized on her distracted state by having his Susano'o lunge forward with its lance, which Yugito noticed at the last second and moved to minimize damage she would be taking. The stab made contact with the bone casing surrounding her back, preventing any damage other than a crack in the improvised armor. _'Dammit that bone is tough! Come on Rin, we need you out here if we're going to take this girl down!' _

Obito anger and frustration at the seeming hopelessness of the current situation began to trigger another maturation of the Uchiha's pale blue colored Susano'o. Skin had begun to grow on the giant Oni like construct and once the skin had fully covered the avatar, scales developed on the entirety of the entity's flesh.

His rage drove him to strike with the Susano'o again, and this time it was faster than before leaving Yugito no time to react and the bone lance made contact with her bone armor, this time doing far more than just cracking it, but also piercing all the way through the bone and stabbing into her crimson red cloak and nicking her skin: causing a flesh wound and drawing some blood and causing Yugito's savage form to growl in pain. _'Every time I think I'm just about at the limit of what my Sharingan is capable of, I find that I'm still just scratching the surface of its capabilities. Okay it appears that the Susano'o responds to anger and frustration to mature itself. Okay Obito, start digging deep and pulling all you can out and see if you can force it to continue evolving.'_

While Obito was thinking this Kakashi immediately ran through hand seals and screamed: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" to capitalize on the opening that Obito's enraged attack had created by reusing water that Rin had expelled earlier in the melee. The howl of pain Yugito's body gave showed that the attack had made it through the hole in her armor and did exactly as Kakashi hoped. By the time this had finished Obito had brought all of his suppressed anger and frustrations to the surface and began channeling them to hopefully start evolving Susano'o again.

It worked in that a robe formed itself around the demonic warrior and the construct's muscle mass had appeared to begin increasing. The big changes had stopped but Obito could tell that his Susano'o was still evolving, Obito prepared to strike with Susano'o again. His intent was to test just how much the Susano'o had its power increased and use this attempt to give Kakashi an opening to get in his Raiden's Judgement combo when a sudden roar shook the field and a massive chakra spike drew all the combatants' attention to the source, Rin. Her Version 1 began to thicken and darken dramatically and her skin began flaying itself off to reveal a mass of dark Biju chakra beneath.

The Version 1 cloak began to compress and merge with the chakra that was underneath Rin's removed skin, before expanding back outwards and forming the shape of a monstrous Turtle, similar to Yugito's form without the bone armor. She opened her eyes and mouth to reveal hollow white indentations where they would be.

Obito wearily asked: "R-Rin, RIN ARE YOU IN THERE?" his question was answered quickly: **"Y-yeah I am. I-it's a little hard to think and my body aches but Turtle is working with me. He'll take over if I lose control of myself, and help you win this fight and keep me from hurting you. Yugito appears to be tiring, if we can pull off one well-coordinated attack against her with the right finisher, we can end this cat." **

Obito began to smile before realizing two incidents he hadn't dug up his emotions from: the illusion he was exposed to that awoke his Mangekyo, a vision of Kakashi impaling Rin through the heart with the Chidori, and the mission where Rin was kidnapped and implanted with the Turtle in the first place, forcing her to hide something from most people and exercise deep control to prevent her secret from being exposed.

He grit his teeth as the suppressed emotions involved began to seep into his conscious and overtook him causing him to begin roaring in outrage, which his Susano'o mirrored as it began outwardly evolving again. Armor formed on its robe and a bird like mask formed on its visage, a second set of arms formed and pushed their way out of the constructs shoulders joints before the clothing and armor formed around them as well. A shield formed on its main left arm opposite of the right arm that held the lance.

The two arms that formed out of its back formed two small, curved blades that almost resembled a bird of prey's talons. Obito began to notice the extreme decline in his eyesight and push forward to end this fight as quickly as possible before his eyes were sealed by darkness. "Alright guys lets end this!" He screamed from his Susano'o to which his teammates responded: "RIGHT!/ **RIGHT!**"

Obito willed his version of the Storm God's manifestation to strike at Yugito, who quickly dodged and began spewing blue fire at the Uchiha. Rin countered by protecting him by unleashing: "**WATER RELEASE: HIGH PRESSURE TORRENT!**" which not only fully stopped the inferno but pushed it back swiftly and overpowered Yugito's attack and made contact with the feral Nibi Jinchuriki, weakening her.

Kakashi quickly fired off his own Water Dragons at Yugito to kick her while she was down and unable to move.

Obito quickly took advantage of the extended window provided by this.

Obito quickly rushed forward from within his Susano'o and had it stab forward with the quickly maddening Yugito using its lance as fast and hard as it could. It stuck at Yugito and destroyed the rest of her bone armor and pulling the now useless fragments back into her body. When he had the construct pull back its spear, blood covered the tip.

Yugito was hurt badly now and they could end it now.

"Kakashi go for the Raiden's Judgement combo now!" Obito screamed and Kakashi acknowledged rushing down his target and striking at her with rapid fire taijutsu strikes enhanced by his Lightning Cloak, sometimes moving fast enough delivering strikes to appear as a bolt of light. The rapid assault battering her body left Yugito disoriented and unable to respond to the final strike of the combo.

During his assault he was molding chakra for his finisher, the final strike of the combo was designed to be able to be swapped out with any jutsu that Kakashi needed to use or to place a seal to finish his opponent. Once the intended finisher was ready, he rushed forward and slammed his hand into her stomach, announcing his finisher to the opponent who began screaming in extreme pain once the finisher made contact: "Five-Point Suppression Seal!"

The chakra of the Nibi was cut off and forced back into it seal leaving Yugito's unconscious body on the ground with the injuries from the battle and her skin burnt off.

Obito's Susano'o began to flicker out of existence before he fell to the ground, exhausted, after a moment to catch his breath, he quickly activated Kamui to retrieve Naruto and release Kakashi's hounds from the Kamui World. As soon as that was done he grabbed Yugito, restrained her, and pulled her into the Kamui World before he turned to Rin and Kakashi with eyes that were hollow and almost blind.

Rin's transformation released and showed her skin as being slightly irritated but overall in much better condition than Yugito, before falling to her knees in exhaustion. Kakashi covered his sharingan and deactivated his Lightning Cloak before walking over to Rin holding Naruto in her arms after Obito handed him to her. He too collapsed by them once he was within touching distance. The three sat there for a moment before the cracking sounds of lightning caught their attention and drew them to a fourth Kumon in with a lightning covered blade drawn and intending to kill them, but before he could he was struck down from behind where there stood an ANBU in a plain white mask with the Kanji for ROOT engraved on it to who stood ready to apprehend the exhausted team Minato and Naruto for Danzo.

Fortunately, Fate had other plans that stood to benefit the young jonins and their charge.

A royal purple glow and a scream announcing a jutsu sealed the fate of the ROOT agent.

"ARROW OF SUSANO'O!"

A royal purple colored arrow construct rushed by the tired youths and pierced the heart of the enemy they had just noticed and pinned him to a tree, failing his mission.

The youths looked over to see who their savior was. Clad by a glowing purple 4 armed Susano'o in an armored robe but without legs, wielding a long bow within it primary hands and a pair of dagger in its secondary hands. It was slender compared to Obito's, almost like it was supposed to be female, which the chest area confirmed by the look of the shaping. All three jonins shouted a name in amazement once the realized who their savior was after they dismissed their construct: "Mikoto!" the kind face looked at them examining them to see their injuries only to notice the baby boy of her deceased friend in Rin's arms before her own rage exploded at the implication and her sharingan reacted by returning to its Mangekyo form and her Susano'o began manifesting again before she calmed down.

"I'll explain later. Can you three move?" the youths nodded and got themselves up and grabbed the bodies of the attackers that weren't stored in the Kamui World. They quickly returned to the Hidden Leaf to treat the three youths' injuries and to hear Uchiha Mikoto's explanations on why she had a Mangekyo.

It was going to be a long night.

Xxx

Danzo sat in his office in the ROOT compound.

Two and a half hours ago, he had created a security hole to allow the Kumo Black ops incursion into the village to retrieve the Uzumaki.

Just an hour ago his agents had reported that the Kumo Black ops team had exited the village.

Now all that was left was to wait for the agent sent to assassinate the black ops team to kill the Kumo scum and return with the Uzumaki.

War with Kumo was within reach.

Even if that agent failed to stop the Kumo team, there was a backup plan currently stationed within Kumogakure.

If that plan had to be put into play, he had no doubt Chameleon would successfully retrieve the child.

But it would most likely mean that war would not be achieved.

But either way, the war hawk would gain the Uzumaki to mold as he wanted.

And what he wanted was what was good for Konoha, despite the village thinking otherwise.

But it's resistance to his will was futile. After all, he guided it from the shadows and was the foundation the village was built on.

The ROOT that held up this great tree called Konoha that peace loving fools sought to destroy the supremacy of.

Before Danzo's life was over, he would see Konoha rule the ninja world.

It was only a matter of time and gaining the proper pawns.

End Chapter Two

**Not much to say other than if you like Yugito as a character, better buckle up because you will not like what I have planned for her. I don't hate her, she's a character that I have seen some fanfic writers do some cool things with, but I couldn't think of anything cool for her to do other than this chapter. And for what I have for my plan for the next few chapters requires her fate to not be good. This chapter was finished on 10-22-2019 at 12:39 pm. I'm going to get started on the next now.**

**Editing finished on 1/2/2020 at 12:43 am, encouraged by what I saw for the first chapter, the chapter will be uploaded when I wake up tomorrow and finish the author's note and any additional expansion that I see as being needed.**

**Yugito's "near release form" is based on Naruto's six tailed version 2 cloak from the Pain fight. Obito did not achieve perfect Susano'o, he achieved the version bellow it before his eyes began failing.**

**The Raiden's Judgement combo that Kakashi uses to finish Yugito is based on Killua's Godspeed Bolt from Hunter x Hunter. I have never seen Hunter x Hunter but I saw that Attack in Jump Force (yes I played it and found interesting concept in it that I would love to see further explored.) and thought huh if you just simplified it down a bit then the move would fit perfectly in Naruto, hence Raiden's Judgement, which has a bit of versatility built in.**

**Danzo's section was added last to clear up some muddied waters. **

**To answer Gundam Meister Uzumaki's question: No I was not planning on using the Danzo plot to pair up Naruto and Samui. The ship for this story is Naruhina. I would have the brackets that most authors use to denote pairings in the main character denotation, which I figured out how to fix before posting this chapter.**

**To answer ShadowDeathSkull's question: The answer is both Yes and No. Yes because of the events of this Chapter, but no for reasons that will be seen next chapter.**

**Chapter 3 is in the middle of editing and expanding where needed. As of this moment it is easily the shortest chapter I made, sitting at about just over 3000 words. It is in a generally completed state, but it is not up to standard, it's a skeleton that needs the gaps filled in. It will take quite some time to finish the editing, especially due to the fact that I will be unable to resume work on it till this Sunday night, 1/5/2020, at the earliest. Expect it to come out Wednesday, 1/8/2020 for the release date. It may come out earlier but that would require a little bit of luck and that I not get too distracted.**

**Change Log: (3-10-2020) Minor edits to spelling and grammar. Nothing too special. **

**So until next time: SEE YA LATER!**


	3. A Storm Avoided

Seals of Fate

**Not much to say at the time of this writing, other than started on 10/22/19 at 12:42 pm**

**Editing note: I'm surprised about the amount of positive feedback I've been getting, I don't know what to say other than, thank you! By the way, in the first chapter: the initial part Rin's first conversation with Isobu is a reference to RWBY Volume 4, where Oscar starts talking to Ozpin and he is assured that he is sane despite being able to hear voices. Oscar tries to challenge this by asking how could he be considered normal if he can hear voices, before Ozpin counters by saying: "I said you were sane, not normal." anyways I just wanted to clarify in case no one understood the reference.**

Chapter 3

A Storm Avoided

Fugaku was sitting at the table thinking about a string of inquiries levied against the Military Police by Danzo. Accusations of members committing abuse of authority, Unlawful Assault of Konoha citizens and shinobi, and outright treason claiming that the clan assisted with releasing the Kyubi.

The last one was kept behind closed doors due to the sensitive information involved.

He sighed at just how petty the man had become after Obito called him out in the middle of the council chamber in front of all the clan heads and the civilian members. It seemed that Danzo was trying to provoke a reaction from the Uchiha to justify his stance and regain his public image. Everywhere Fugaku or anyone who bore the clan name Uchiha looked or went, stood the ROOT drones observing them to report to their master, the one eyed bastard.

Though the internal clan problem that was proving to be as big of a headache as the one eyed cripple was the Uchiha Clan Elders. The wrinkled old bastards had been attempting to stir up trouble trying to rally the Uchiha to take over the village. They had lived during the time of Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, who was harsh in his treatment of the Uchiha but was far fairer in his treatment of their clan than his student Danzo. Tobirama would have given them a chance to prove their innocence, Danzo would want to elevate the severity and force a guilty verdict to wipe them out.

Or perhaps, if taking ROOT in to consideration, simply kill every Uchiha who could not be completely re-programmed, and simply destroy the clan on identifying level. Keeping simply those who could be programmed into Danzo's view of Konoha.

Yes, the elders did have a point that the Uchiha had been locked and restricted to the Military Police, but it made sense considering the standard skill set possessed by an Uchiha and it was becoming apparent that those in power were beginning to open up to changing that regulation. And it also seemed the elders had a self-serving memory when it came to the history of the Warring States, otherwise they would remember how many of Tobirama's brothers had been killed by Uchihas that those elders were descendants of and held up as paragons of the clan.

It had happened twice, the elders attempted to play off the frustrations of those who would listen. The next time it happened, there would be hell to pay. Fugaku could almost see the horrified looks of indignation that would be on their faces when he had them taken away next time. A smile crept onto his face, hoping that they would do something stupid and give him a bit of satisfaction that he longed for at the moment.

That small bit of joy from imagining what would likely be happening soon caused him to remember his last conversation with Hiashi. Sometimes it payed to have a fellow clan leader of a highly respected clan within the village. Because when the two or however many got together for a drink, usually one just had to start complaining about the pompous arrogance of their clan's members, traditions, or elders and the other knew that pain from experience and sympathized without question.

Apparently Hiashi was having his own headache with his clan's elders, especially with the upcoming birth of his daughter. That was a subject that had become a headache with Fugaku in a way due to one elder in particular, and the next time that damned Izayoi tried to order him to marry off Sasuke or Itachi one to the girl, Fugaku was going to burn the man to ashes and send the individual bags of his ashes to the rest of the elders with a note saying: "This is all that remains of Izayoi, who tried to order me on how to lead the clan. I lead this clan, you are to advise me. Remember that or share the fool's fate."

Mikoto hadn't returned from checking on Minato and Kushina's son and their students. He was never told that Naruto was Minato's son, but common knowledge said that most Uzumakis would always have some shade of red for a hair color. Adding things together through investigation and finding known and adding them with previously unknown facts to find the truth that was hidden in a pile of lies and half-truths had always been a favored pastime.

Though he had the suspicion that Mikoto knew something about both Kushina and Naruto that she wasn't telling him. But considering how much effort was put into trying to keep what was left of the Uzumaki clan safe, perhaps this was simply one of those things that should left alone.

Fugaku understood that, after all, how many would come after his clan if the full information on the Mangekyo Sharingan came out.

Refocusing his thoughts on Mikoto, he looked at the time and realized she had been gone for an hour after she rushed in, grabbed a parcel of some sorts, and rushed out saying she was going to check on those kids.

He thought about going after Mikoto to settle some nagging feeling in the back of his mind when the door opening caught his attention. He looked over to see the bloody and bruised bodies of Obito, Rin, and Kakashi enter carrying Naruto and the bodies of two ninja who appeared to be from Kumo and an ANBU wearing a uniform that the Uchiha was becoming too familiar with: ROOT, before Mikoto herself entered, wearing her mission uniform.

"What happened?" he asked.

Kakashi answered: "A black ops team from Kumo was sent to kidnap Naruto for them. The team had Ni'i Yugito as a part of it but we managed to pull through. Mikoto-sama saved us from an ANBU who was attacked us afterwards. She said she would give us an explanation here."

"An explanation on what?" Fugaku asked, a voice in his ear telling him that he already knew what.

"On why she has a Mangekyo." Said Obito, whom the Uchiha clan leader now noticed the hollow look in his eyes and the effort he was putting into his sight, probably due to some form of recently acquired injury.

"Obito, what happened to your eyes?" asked Fugaku.

Obito's response shocked him: "I have a Mangekyo, have had it for 2 years, and had to really put it to work to take down Yugito."

That made sense, considering what he knew about the special jonin. He then looked at Rin and noticed that her skin appeared to be highly irritated, as though she was suffering a mild burn on her entire body.

Mikoto nodded in affirmation to what her nephew said and quickly went to grab a first aid kit to begin treating the teenagers.

"Here take this and put it onto your skin. My sensei made it for Kushina, who had a similar issue with her power going out of control and resulting in extreme irritation to her skin." Mikoto said handing a bottle of something to Rin, who did as she was told.

Once the kids had been patched up, she began her story: "I gained my Mangekyo on my final mission for Konoha, three years ago. The mission involved tracking down a criminal who had infiltrated the village and began carrying out assassinations of Uchiha authorities primarily and other targets. He had escaped and made a run for it when he was figured out when a sensor placed at a projected possible target detected his strange chakra moldings and alerted the security.

He was a genjutsu expert with high affinity and expertise in the art who possessed a unique jutsu to carry out his assassinations that was puzzling everyone.

Most perplexingly, some of the bodies he left had wounds that were self-inflicted.

My little sister, Obito's mother Nao, and I were sent after the man, along with an Inuzuka tracker.

We had caught up to him at the Land of Fire border, heading towards Kiri or at least in the direction of the Land of Water. He engaged us in a surprisingly polite yet clearly malicious conversation, if it was in any other setting I would have thought him to be a casual acquaintance, he introduced himself as Moyo and explained that he was carrying out a mission for his master by testing out a special jutsu that the assassin had developed before he revealed exactly how he carried out his assassinations, a mental brainwashing Genjutsu that overrides and hijacks control of the part of the brain that controls muscle movements.

He even offered to demonstrate it. Before we could order him to stop or restrain him, he had used it.

Apparently the man possessed some sort of dojutsu, which one or what it looked like, I couldn't tell due to a spiral mask he was wearing, but he demonstrated the Genjutsu by using it and it was aimed at Nao and she attempted to fight it, but her Sharingan was unable to counter the genjutsu for some reason. I was able to recognize it as a dojutsu based jutsu due to the strange glow that was emitted from his mask's eyeholes, a clear sign of the activation of a jutsu attached to a dojutsu.

The tracker and I were forced to fight her as Moyo got away. Nao had managed to get in and kill the tracker that we had been teamed up with for the mission. Her movements were strange, as if she was being outright possessed and was being worn like clothes, but they were ill fitting to the point of interfering with movement. But as her successful kill of our tracker proved, it still made her a strong ninja, even if she lacked the grace that she usually had.

In the end I couldn't figure out how to break her out, she was able to speak through the control with some effort and assured me she was at peace with what had to be done to stop her, so I was forced to mortally wound my sister. Her last words begged me to help take care of Obito after she was gone. I promised I would before she finally succumbed to her injuries and passed away.

As the adrenaline wore off, I began to feel the pain, from injuries both physical and emotional.

The only thought in my mind was that could think about was that I had just killed my baby sister.

The pain in my heart felt terrible and the burning inside of my eyes felt just as bad.

The Mangekyo Sharingan, the kaleidoscope copy wheel eye, had been awakened in my eyes, awakened by my loss.

When I got back I decided that I was done being an active Ninja. I decided that my remaining family, Obito included, needed me far more than the village needed me.

I still kept up with my conditioning and training, I never stopped improving, even using my Mangekyo in certain circumstances to see what it was capable of. I noticed after the first actual test I did on its capabilities that the usage had damaged my eyesight slightly, most would have overlooked it till their sight had been damaged beyond saving, but I always prided myself for noticing small details. Thanks to my sensei passing on some of her knowledge of how the body works and recovers from injuries, I made sure to try and space out my usages of the Mangekyo as much as possible to allow time for my eyes to recover from the strain.

Because if we were ever faced with a threat or problem that my power could help solve, I would do it without hesitation.

I started out with access to Amaterasu, the black flames, which was easy enough to test. Over time I gained Tsukuyomi, the torturing hell scape illusion, that was harder to test due to its genjutsu nature, but I managed with help from some, shall we say eager volunteers, who had tried to kill my family.

My Susano'o awoke after Obito left the clan two years ago, because I felt as though I had betrayed Nao's final request of me. I know that I shouldn't have felt that way about it but one thing I have learned in my life is that you could understand something perfectly in your mind, but your heart has a will of its own and rarely understands things the same way.

But my despair after losing Kushina in the Kyubi attack had given me the push my Susano'o to its current highest form, which was what you saw earlier."

The three kids thought about what had been said by the Uchiha Matriarch.

However Obito spoke up about something else. "I know this may be off topic, but you hardly reacted to my eyes being nearly blinded by Mangekyo usage. I know my eyesight is just about gone but I don't think that is the problem. How long have you known about my Mangekyo?"

Mikoto smiled softly. "Obito, you don't realize just how much you act like Nao and me. I've known since you returned from that mission into the Land of Water two years ago. You did exactly what I did after getting my Mangekyo, cut out anything you believed to be less important in favor of where you believed you were needed most, which in your case was your team."

Rin spoke this time. "Mikoto-sama, is there any way to heal the damage to Obito's eyesight?"

Mikoto's expression went slightly grim: "I'm afraid not through medicine, the damage inflicted on the eyes can be mitigated somewhat by newer treatments as Obito has proved, yes I am aware of that. But there is another way.

After I received my Mangekyo, I began to dig through old texts in the clan's records and found an interesting bit of history: the first Uchiha in known history to awaken the Mangekyo was Izuna, followed by his elder brother Madara.

One of the texts left by Madara reveals that there is a power beyond the Mangekyo called the Eternal Mangekyo. It is activated by swapping the activated Mangekyo Sharingan between two Uchihas of close blood relation, the only known manifestation in known history was Madara himself who took the eyes of his little brother Izuna after Senju Tobirama killed him in anger and vengeance for the death of his last younger brother at the hands of a gang of much older Uchihas.

The Eternal Mangekyo completely reverses the damage done by the Mangekyo upon awakening, and eliminates the possibility of going blind and cuts the chakra requirements for usage of Mangekyo, as well as significantly reduces the strain caused by Mangekyo Jutsu.

I believe my eyes and Obito's are compatible, his mother was my twin sister so our genetics should be similar enough to trigger the change. We need to have it done of we hope to prevent Obito from going completely blind. Obito, we don't know if my eyes and your eyes are compatible, but if you wish to save your eyesight, are you willing to take the risk and see if it works?"

Obito took a long breath before he responded: "Yeah let's do this as soon as we can."

Mikoto looked at Rin before continuing: "Rin-chan, are you capable of performing transplants between live subjects?"

Rin nodded. "Yes I am. How do you think that Kakashi got his sharingan in the middle of a mission from a rogue Uchiha?"

Mikoto continue: "Good. Fugaku, I need you to call an emergency council meeting once were done and get Rin and Kakashi there along with the bodies. And do not mention Yugito in the slightest."

Her husband nodded in approval, before his expression turned gleeful: "Based on the presence of a ROOT agent, Danzo is involved in this mess. He defied a direct order of the Hokage, which means punishment will follow. To be part of the effort that brings that one-eyed bastard down is an honor and privilege I will gladly accept."

"We have a clean, sterile room in the compound for complex procedure if needed to be done to unstable victims, officers of the Military Police, and arrested individuals awaiting transfer to the prison. We'll do the transplant there." Mikoto said as she led the two kids to the room in question.

Xxx

'_Finally finished.' _Rin thought to herself after finishing a last check to ensure the chakra coils had been properly connected between her two patients' transplanted eyes.

The strange chakra molding occurring within the eyes must mean that Mikoto's theory was right, the two Uchihas' eyes were compatible.

Rin estimated it would take two weeks for the connections to stabilize enough for usage without complications.

Rin turned towards her next two patients, Ni'i Yugito and the Storm Release user identified as Marui. Obito had pulled them out of the Kamui World before he was sedated to begin operating.

Rin had to make sure Yugito could survive until her fate was decided. The injuries that had been inflicted on the Kumo jinchuriki had already begun healing due to her Biju.

Rin merely treated her skin, healed the open wounds on the girl, and finally went over both Kakashi's 5 Point Seal and Obito's Chakra Binding Seal to ensure effectiveness.

Then she moved on to Marui and dealt with anything he had that might be life threatening.

Rin panted in exhaustion after finishing, getting some rest before she had to go before the Konoha council.

Her thoughts wandered back to some of her precious memories.

Her and her teammates passing Minato-sensei's genin test was the first. The second was Kakashi finally opening up to her and Obito.

The third was the training that had taken more than half a year to complete, when Minato-sensei passed his Rasengan technique down to his students.

However, her mind wandered towards the middle of the second phase. Obito had been lagging behind both herself and Kakashi, his progress for the day was steadily decline, and he seemed to be regressing.

Then he made a comment that set off her mental flags: _"Why can't I do this like I was earlier?! And why do my hands like a burned them on a fire?"_

Rin quickly stopped her attempt and grabbed his hands and removed a set of gloves he had started wearing. What she found confirmed what she thought it was: _"You're done training for today Obito, these are chakra burns from over exerting tenketsu. I can put something on them to help them heal but you have to give those tenketsu a rest."_

Obito had been known to stubbornly put off the advice of people if he thought it to be getting his way but he just nodded and allowed her to get to work.

Once she was done, she turned to him and said: _"You need to be more careful. If you want to be Hokage, you need to know when you're at your limit and back off." _

Obito just grinned before responding: _"Alright, Rin. I will. Sorry about worrying you." _

He wandered off while Rin went back to attempting to complete the phase. Kakashi was giving her a look that she couldn't quite read. When she asked him about it, he merely shrugged and told her don't worry about it.

Obito's confession a few weeks ago made a few things slide into place in both that memory and others as well. Then a voice chimed in.

**I was wondering when you would pick up on his behavior.**

_I thought human romance confused you?_

**I said the worry you humans attach to it confused me. I have been around humans long enough to read their behavior.**

_Was Obito really that obvious about his feeling towards me?_

**Based on the two years I have been in you, I would say yes. Do you know what you're going to do about it?**

_I'm going to give him a chance, he's a really nice guy who put a lot of other things before himself. He has earned it._

Obito and Mikoto both began to rouse from their anesthesia induced slumber to aid in the procedure to notice the darkness that was their vision before feeling around their eyes to find bandages: "We need to leave those on there for two weeks as your eyes adjust to your bodies."

The Uchihas responded in affirmation before a question was asked by Rin: "Mikoto-sama, why do you want the power found in those eyes even if you have given up being a ninja?"

Mikoto smiled softly before responding, "Rin-chan, there's no need to be so formal, Mikoto will do. I don't want the power, I want the guarantee that is attached to it, that I won't go blind and miss my boys' lives because I cannot see from using this power to protect them."

Obito cut in: "Hey guys how are we going to remove Yugito and that other guy from the Kamui World?"

Rin shook her head at how air headed Obito could be sometimes. "Obito-kun, you should remember that you pulled them out before I operated."

Obito scratched his head in embarrassment: "Yeah I kinda forgot about that and just had a moment of panic…" before he paused, his brain having finally caught up to what Rin called him, giving her massive amused smile: "WAIT, y-you c-c-called me Obito-kun. Does this mean…?"

Rin cut him off before he decided to start rambling and say something that would ruin the moment: "Yes and no. I don't know if what I feel for you is or will be the same as what you obviously feel for me, but I'm more than willing to give you chance." Obito smiled and softly said: "Thanks Rin-chan, I won't make you question your choice."

Mikoto merely smiled and thought to herself: '_Ah to be young and in love._'

Fugaku and Kakashi both walked in with the Uchiha Head speaking: "It's time."

Rin nodded.

It was time for Danzo's swan song

Xxx

The council was silent as crypt after the revelation of the attempted kidnapping and it's thwarting.

No one said a word as they wondered how a four man black ops team managed to get in to Konoha without ANBU finding out and alerting others. Danzo had demanded where the other two members of the team were, but Kakashi countered claiming there wasn't enough of a body left for one member and the other that was still alive was in the Military Police's custody.

Hiruzen attempted to wrap things up before Rin revealed one last piece of evidence: "Hokage-sama, there was another Ninja there, an ANBU wearing a uniform I had never seen before killed the last member of the Black Ops team and moved to kidnap all four us plus the one we apprehended alive, it was only thanks to Obito pushing past his limits and reacting as fast as he could that save us."

Danzo's heart sank at that mentioning and only his self-control stopped him from going pale.

Then Rin pulled out another storage scroll and unsealed the body of the ROOT ANBU. The council went pale at the Leaf symbol engraved on the ivory mask. One of their own had attempted to kidnap the son of one of its heroes.

But everyone knew who sent the ANBU upon noticing the Killing intent from Hiruzen suddenly appeared despite the man appearing calm.

He slowly turned to Danzo and said: "ANBU, arrest Shimura Danzo for defying the order to disband ROOT and ignoring my order to leave Naruto alone. Have his ability to mold chakra permanently stripped from him and put him in a cell to await punishment." ANBU quickly complied

Danzo quickly shouted: "You shall not. I have devoted my entire life to Konoha and its advancement."

Hiruzen stared for a second before responding: "I'm sure you're right about that Danzo, but you have lost sight of the difference between the good of Konoha and the good of Danzo. Obito was proven right about his accusation towards you. You may share Tobirama-sensei's fears of the Uchiha and other villages, but it is clear to me that part of his decision to choose me as his successor was based on that he saw that an extremer version of his views could not be allowed to take root in Konoha chain of command, if the village was to become truly great."

Danzo looked at Koharu and Homura, hoping that two who shared his view would defend him, but he saw the look that had set into them with Hiruzen's response.

The ANBU grabbed Danzo and the crippled war hawk went with them, knowing he was beaten and there was nothing he could do.

Hiruzen spoke up: "If there is nothing else, we will reconvene tomorrow. Kakashi, Rin. Meet me in my office."

The two complied and followed the old Hokage there.

"I know there was more to the story than what you told in the council room so tell it now." Hiruzen commanded the teenagers.

Rin spoke: "One of the members of the Black ops team was Ni'i Yugito, the current Nibi jinchuriki. She was the one we claimed there wasn't a body left of." Kakashi took out a kunai and used it to draw blood before running through Hand seals and summoning the restrained Jinchuriki using the seal that was applied to her as part of her restraints.

Hiruzen immediately answered: "We should return her to Kumo and hope this was an isolated incident."

Kakashi spoke now: "Apologies Hokage-sama but we cannot allow it, she knows too much and if she is returned even with her mind wiped of any useful information, her Biju still has it. We need a response that will get the point across: we will not tolerate this kind of action."

Hiruzen sighed knowing that the Copy Nin was right and knew where it was headed: "What do you suggest?"

"Summon Jiraiya-sama to have her Biju transferred to a new host." The two youths answered as one.

Hiruzen nodded sadly, knowing that this would most likely mean the end of any hope of peace with Kumo, while also understanding that this message had to be sent. "I'll send him a letter."

Xxx

**Mount Myoboku, the home of the Toad summoning clan**

Jiraiya sat among the statues of the failed sages as he pondered.

He had begun reflecting on the events of the past two weeks.

News of Minato's death had reached him when Gerotora arrived. Jiraiya decided that for now it would be best to let the pain settle and the wound of the loss of the man he loved like a son heal.

Jiraiya had sent a message to Hiruzen-sensei, who had retaken the Hokage Hat, soon after. His message stated that anonymous funds would be given to the Hokage's office starting two weeks after the death of Minato, and it would come in bi-weekly consistently afterwards and was to be silently shuffled into the mission payment of the brats taking care of Naruto and helping to pay for Genin teams to assist in his care for when the needed it.

He had visited Konoha to attend the private funeral for both Minato and Kushina, which was a few days after the attack. He paid for any expense that would be incurred.

He came back to Myoboku to find some quiet to write in now that he had all of his research compiled for his next Icha Icha book, and to train to better master Sage Mode in his off hours.

He was soon distracted by Fukusaku coming rather hurriedly: "Jiraiya-chan, the Seer Toad has summoned you. He had a vision in the night that you need to hear."

Jiraiya gathered up his material and began heading to the pool that the Seer Toad, Gamamaru made his home in.

Jiraiya knew that it was big, if Fukusaku was this excited about it.

Upon arriving they were met with the sight of Gamamaru more awake and alert than Jiraiya had ever seen him.

The ancient toad sage spoke: "Jiraiya-chan, so good you came as fast as you could. The boy who was born not so long ago, the boy of your student Minato, I had a vision more clearly than my usual premonitions, far more detailed, and I know that it involved him last night, he alongside two others had become the successors to my original disciples, before there were toad summoners.

The boy is one of the last heirs of the clan of the whirlpool, within him lies the Kyubi no Kitsune, a fallen protector of this world. The boy has been deemed the successor to Ashura. The desire to protect and one day lead shall burn within him, a wild orange flame that is brighter than many infernos.

While one born before him from the clan of the crimson eyes that read those they see, was deemed the successor to Indra. A raging and vengeful hatred shall burn a dark blaze within him, and shall bring him to target those who have committed many evils and they shall be struck down by the glowing purple haze cast by his flame.

These two names that I have mentioned, are the sons of one of my first disciples, Otsutsuki Hagoromo: who you know as the Sage of Six Paths.

One who is yet to be born yet you will know more about her than she will know about herself for a long time was born to the clan of the pale eyes that see all around them, she is deemed the successor to my disciple, Otsutsuki Hamura: known as the Moon Sage. A gentle blue flame fueled by the desire to protect her own, like a mother cat and her kittens, shall burn within her.

They will inherit the powers of the their predecessors and challenge a great evil that will be appearing before two decades have passed, and through their victory shall Hagoromo's dream of peace be made fulfilled. But if they fail and are defeated, then this world shall disappear.

And you shall be one of many who helps shape their path. For Young Naruto and this girl yet to be born, you will be the one of two guiding stars down their path." Jiraiya looked up almost awestruck as he realized just what had been told to him.

The Sage was real, among many other revelations.

However a small monkey summon appeared before them with a message intended for Jiraiya.

The Seer Toad commanded: "Read it then make a choice, your new path starts now. We will be resuming this conversation at a later date." Before closing his eyes and slipping back into the disposition that Jiraiya had always seen of the Seer Toad.

Which brought Jiraiya back to the present, the letter the monkey had carried contained news that the Nibi Jinchuriki had led a black ops mission into Konoha but she was captured and her Biju was to be transferred to a new host.

The letter requested instructions for finding a viable host for the Biju and his assistance with the transfer.

Jiraiya had just finished his response that yes he would be there within a week, and the message included a method to extract a tiny bit of the Nibi's chakra and use it to test for host viability in a hot/cold style manner, that could be measured to find a viable candidate.

However, the Toad Sage had a nagging feeling that the prophecy was tied directly to what was now happening.

Xxx

_A week later_

Jiraiya had arrived at Konoha early that evening, taking his time after leaving Myoboku to reflect and make a few decisions.

He had arrived and found the house the three teens were staying in easily, mostly because it was Minato's house.

He had been welcomed in by Kakashi who directed him to a living room where Obito sat with bandages blindfolding him and with Naruto's crib nearby, probably due to paranoia after the Kumo attempted kidnapping.

They said that the bandages were due to come off in a week.

He decided to get the conversation about why he was asked to come going: "So have you found anyone who's compatible with Nibi yet?"

Kakashi answered as Rin was preparing the food, "Yeah we have. But it's a tad bit complicated."

Jiraiya responded: "Well we have time."

The teen had explained that they tested many children trying to find a viable host, but due to unsatisfactory results were forced to begin testing on the members of minor clans to find a compatible host.

Those tests yielded slightly better results, but still not good enough to be used for the jinchuriki.

They moved up to major clans, and the few tests they did went much better.

"Out of the ones tested from the major clans, those from the Hyuga clan did far better than the rest. So we decided to narrow the tests down to members of the Hyuga, and the result of the last one tested is the most promising, but we did a second test on that candidate to be extra certain, and it was still the best we had seen." Kakashi finished

"Well who is it?" Jiraiya asked.

"Are you aware of Hyuga Hitomi, Hiashi's wife?" the silver haired teen asked.

Jiraiya wondered where this might be heading: "Yeah, she was Tsunade's student wasn't she. With Kushina and Mikoto but she was the only one of her genin who took up Medical Ninjutsu beyond mere basics."

Kakashi nodded "Yeah that's her, she's pregnant with her first child, a girl, and we ran both of the test with her permission. The child is a match, she can properly contain the Nibi, but Hitomi isn't due until late December. Furthermore, Hitomi is the best scenario we could have hoped for because of her loyalty to the village before her clan."

Jiraiya responded "The due date is not too much of a problem, we just need to keep Yugito alive until then, and that would give us plenty of time to figure out how to pick the lock on her seal in preparation for the transfer."

At that moment Rin brought the food to the table before guiding Obito to the table and taking a seat next to Obito. "Alright boys, the food is done, save business for later after we're done eating."

Everyone agreed unanimously.

Xxx

Twenty ANBUs were at work dismantling the ROOT Division.

Thankfully they had help from a 12 year old member who was the highest ranking member of the division following the mass detaining of the captains of the unit.

Unfortunately he had been part of the unit for so much of his life that documentation for his original identity no longer existed.

The only name he had was the name he had been given by the captains of the unit: Shin.

The ANBU leading the dismantling: Tenzo, was a former member of the rogue black ops unit and understood too well what happened to the exceptionally young recruits.

The other ANBUs were horrified at the extremely young age that Danzo had begun scouting for recruits at.

The most recent one was just a year old, and his identity had already been destroyed, though the documents had indicated that his parents died in the Kyubi attack just a few weeks ago. The only name he had now was Sai. Though Shin had volunteered to take care of the boy.

Documents indicated that Danzo had plans for forced recruitment of multiple children, even children from clans. The eldest of which were being targeted before Danzo was taken down were Yamanaka Fu, a noted to be exceptionally gifted Yamanaka, and Aburame Torune, who possessed a genetic mutation that rendered him unable to host the standard Aburame Kikaichu parasites but gave him an astoundingly high affinity for the clan's least known and most deadly insect type: the Rinkaichu, the phosphorous nano-insects, a species that function more like a potent disease that tore apart the bonds between cells with their venom.

Research on the bug done out of curiosity after discovering the information on them would be haunting Tenzo's nightmares for a month and made him wish he hadn't.

The fact that any Aburame could theoretically host them with the right conditions present made him shudder, the sole comfort was that only a few Aburames had the conditions present to host Rinkaichu, and Torune was the only one to be able to host the deadly insect species for some time.

However the most damning thing he would be hearing today would be now.

"Sir, I found a mission document." Said one of the operatives who was assisting Tenzo in going through the document office.

"And?" asked Tenzo.

"It's incomplete." Replied the ANBU

Tenzo's eyes went wide, if it was incomplete, it meant that it was ongoing and that the operative carrying it out hadn't returned yet.

"Does it list who was sent and what the mission was?" Tenzo asked.

"It does both sir. It lists their name as Chameleon and their mission was to retrieve Uzumaki Naruto should the initial operation fail. The order that the operative was initially given was to infiltrate Kumo and wait for further orders." The ANBU replied.

"Which means he is still there. Do we have his personnel file?" Tenzo asked

"Yes I found it earlier. And his is much longer than most operatives his age." The subordinate replied

"Why?" Tenzo asked precariously.

Because it listed the amount of experimentation he was subjected to and what each entailed.

The experimentation afforded him accelerated growth both physically and mentally, cut the rate of decay due to age, and gave the young boy an accelerated rate of healing comparable to that of a jinchuriki.

Unlike the others, there was an actual name attached to his file rather than just a call sign, due to the unique circumstances of his recruitment.

He only had a given name but no clan or family name.

His name…

…was Kabuto.

Xxx

_2 months later_

_December 27 _

Screams had already rang through the halls of the delivery ward as Hyuga Hitomi fought to give birth to her daughter. Labored breathing from the new mother and soft crying from the newborn girl were all that remained of the pained screaming and hormone addled rage that previously plagued the room.

Hitomi finally had enough of her clarity return to her that she gave her daughter a name "Welcome to the world, little Hinata-chan."

Rin moved to speak: "Hitomi, we need to get on with the sealing, we need to get it done before Yugito figures out a way to break free."

Hitomi nodded but asked one thing: "I want to be there."

"I figure you would say that. Obito-kun help me get her into a wheelchair." Rin said somewhat somberly.

The Uchiha affirmed: "Right."

After making sure Hitomi was secure, and after looking her in the eye with his Sharingan active, Obito softly said: "Kamui." dragging the adult in the wheel chair, himself and his girlfriend, and the infant into the Kamui world before exiting in the ritual place where most of the seals had been set up and were awaiting Hinata.

Jiraiya turned to them and spoke: "About time you got here. Why is Hitomi asleep? Did she want to come and be here but fainted due to exhaustion, or what?"

Rin then looked at Hitomi's face to see that, yes, she was asleep.

Obito responded: "I put her in a time delayed forced sleep genjutsu. I have a feeling that what we're about to do, she doesn't need to see."

Jiraiya nodded before going to do a final check on the array he had set up.

Rin gently picked up the infant out of her mother's arms and placed her in the intended spot, while Jiraiya went to work placing the needed formulas onto her for the ritual to work and hide all trace of her soon to be held Jinchuriki status; except for her unnaturally powerful as well as fast growing chakra reserves, fast healing, and her ability to tap into her Biju's chakra.

The seal would only be visible to standard sight when chakra was molded a certain way.

What he was building he was borrowing from the design of the seal placed on Naruto, including the part of the seal that hid it from the Byakugan.

Hiruzen had told him that Minato had gotten paranoid about some things and Jiraiya couldn't believe that something would spook Minato this bad, but the anti-Byakugan measure built into the seal on Naruto proved it.

Jiraiya made sure that Obito integrated his Kamui Marker into this seal as well.

One final check with the newly added half of the overall array, because you can never be too careful with something like this.

Once he was done he walked over to Yugito and removed her gag momentarily and positioned himself to quickly replace it should she attempt suicide by biting off her own tongue. "Got any last words, Kitten?"

Yugito shot him a venomous glance and said: "Go to hell, Kumo will avenge me and take back the Nibi. As well as claim the Kyubi and Sanbi."

Jiraiya shrugged before responding: "That's pretty much what I expected to hear from you." Following up by replacing the gag to stop any attempts at suicide during the process.

"Fuinjutsu: Biju Containment Transfer Seal, Activate."

Muffled screaming from Yugito began as the Nibi was pulled from her tearing apart her chakra system and depositing the flaming Monster Cat into the seal array placed on Hinata's stomach. Rin and Obito both could tell that the child was in discomfort but held off on helping to ease it until the sealing was complete. Rin was starting to understand why Obito placed the genjutsu on the woman, no mother should have to watch their child like this with nothing they can do that wouldn't end up hurting the child.

Hinata's soft crying had begun again and Rin could imagine the cries tearing her mother apart to have to watch her precious daughter go through such an ordeal if she hadn't been sedated.

After two more minutes the sealing ended, the dried up husk of Yugito collapsed through her bonds and fell to the floor with an almost sickening sound. The kanji that was drawn onto Hinata's body began pulling together to form the seal on her stomach.

Obito placed his hand to Hitomi's head and released his genjutsu on her, waking her up.

"What happened?" the slightly disoriented woman asked.

"I placed you in a genjutsu, I figured it would have been for the best." Obito responded

Hitomi nodded before turning to her child and whispering: "You may hate me and be angry with me for what I had allowed to be done when we tell you one day, but one day you will understand, Hinata-chan."

Rin could feel Isobu's thoughts.

Hopeful that the Nibi would be able to get along with her new host and be able to regain some of her faith in humanity.

But guilt, for by his allowing, she had been caged up like an animal once again.

To sum it up nicely:

The Nibi had a new jinchuriki and a new Prison.

But Rin held out hope that Hinata would be the last Jinchuriki of the Nibi.

End chapter 3

**Not much to say other than I finished this chapter at 3:37 pm on the day I started it. I just had a Wave of Inspriration! (Cue Rimshaw). I know I'm gonna get some flak for making Hinata a jinchuriki and for killing off Yugito. But if you're surprised that I did it, then I guess Rin's declaration to Isobu didn't sink it in. I have seen a few fanfics that have given Matatabi to Hinata as well, but not quite this way from the ones I have read. Well, I'm going to go eat lunch then start chapter 4. I'll edit and expand later.**

**The editing of this chapter was finished on 1/8/2020 at 4:54 PM. Upload occurred shortly afterwards.**

**Post editing note: hey guys, as promised, a new chapter. This one had probably the most intensive amount of edit and expansion to date, this chapter was 2000 words long when I started editing and expanding, but as of completion has about 7757 words, including my notes at the beginning and end of the chapter. The entirety of the section with Tenzo didn't exist in the original draft, and the starting section was much shorter originally, all of the sections have been expanded quite a bit since the initial writing of this chapter, however one section that I wanted to add but decided against was a section with Zetsu. But if you guys want, I can simply retool what I had in mind for the next chapter, which is going to be a series of time skips ending eight years after the start of the chapter. I could just insert it before the first time skip.**

**I also just discovered a flub that I made in the first chapter that I have to go back and fix. That will be fun. I'm serious. That'll probably happen in the near future.**

**Now due to complications, i.e.: my college classes starting back up tomorrow, I'm going to have far less time to write chapters, edit them, and expand the chapter where needed. I will be going to a two week update system to help fix this problem. Every Sunday afternoon shall be a new chapter. If more problems arise, the system will be modified. The next chapter shall be coming out on 1/19/2020, in a week and a half from the time of this writing.**

**Anyways, leave a review, as the input helps to improve my writing.**

**Change Log: (3-10-2020) minor edits to spelling, grammar, and punctuation.**

**Until Next Time: SEE YA LATER!**


	4. Coming of the Rising Dawn

Seals of Fate

**Nothing funny to say. This chapter had to be completely rewritten, to the point that this chapter is the first chapter that I have written since I started actually posting this fic. I was reading the original and realized: "Dammit, I can't use this." This chapter is entirely original, nothing of the original chapter four is left here. I saved some of it for later use in the future. **

**I almost did not get this out in time for my projected release date due to personal problems. I do not have a clue when the next chapter will come out.**

**Also I realized I should probably mention this: Kakashi may seem different because he had his teammates there for him to help him through any trauma he suffers so he doesn't become the barely functioning adult from canon. I thought I should clarify in case Rin's thought train from the beginning of chapter 2 didn't really catch. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 4

Coming of the Rising Dawn

_5 days after the Nibi sealing._

_Unknown location_

Within a cave hidden within one of the elemental nations stood a 4 people, all of whom were shrouded in black cloaks, but only three were decorated with a red cloud pattern, the odd one amongst the group wore a white mask with a black and red flame pattern adorning it. From the eyeholes of his mask, a faint glow could be seen.

The one next to him was a strange fusion of plant and man, half of its body was white with a green catlike eye, while the other half was black with a yellow eye. Around its neck and head was a venus-fly trap like protrusion.

The next one in the meeting was the sole female of the group, she possessed orange eyes and blue hair, decorated with an origami construct stylized into a rose.

The final one possessed orange hair and rippled purple eyes; with piercings made of an unknown metal visible on the entirety of his head and presumably more hidden by his clothes.

"Zetsu, what news do you bring?" asked the young woman in an almost eerie monotone.

"Well Konan, since you asked, Madara-sama has recovered almost enough from his attack on Konoha to begin attending meetings again. **He severely underestimated just how bad his condition was after his fight against Hashirama over half a century ago due to him having been in little combat during that time, resulting in the Hokage inflicting such damage requiring a long recovery time. **" the strange creature identified as Zetsu responded, in two separate voices for each half of his body which seemed to be separate entities, replied to the woman identified as Konan.

"And what of the rumor concerning Danzo?" asked the purple eyed man.

"It would seem that rumor is correct: Danzo has been removed from power. **But that is just the surface to the story, Pain-sama. **Oh yes he was put down by one of his own machinations backfiring on him, he allowed a Kumo black ops team with their Nibi Jinchuriki in to kidnap the boy who we identified as the Kyubi Jinchuriki so he could take the boy from them, we don't know if either party knew this fact going in, but they were stopped before they could escape the Land of Fire. Danzo was exposed thanks to his ROOT ANBU deciding to try and kidnap the rescuers and the boy and the captured Nibi jinchuriki and failing. The Third Hokage removed him from any position he held, ordered him imprisoned with his chakra molding capabilities sealed during the following council meeting that night after his interference was made known, and that his ROOT division is being dismantled and from what we could tell that process is almost finished. **But they haven't executed him, only by the insistence of the village elders in recognition for what he has done that HAS been good for the village, he has a life sentence and all of his captains from ROOT have been imprisoned as well for their part in his crimes.**" The strange creature explained to the man now identified as Pain.

"Anything else?" Konan asked.

"We found Yugito's body in storage to be sent back to Kumo as a warning. **Her cause of death was extraction of her Biju, but we don't know who it was transferred to nor when it occurred. The best guess we have is that it probably occurred within the last week**. Thanks to her fight with the rescuers, we now have identified Konoha's Nohara Rin as the Sanbi Jinchuriki." The strange creature responded.

"Good. But I see that your master sent you with a question of his own for us, so what is it?" Pain responded.

"Madara-sama does inquire when you plan to take Ami and kill Hanzo and so we ask for him." Zetsu's white half said.

"We plan to move within the next few months, preferably the week that spring is due to begin. That way a symbolic changing of season for Ami's leadership will occur with our takeover. Along with the parting of the perpetual rain clouds that cover the Land of Rain for the first time in living memory, allowing a brief respite from the constant downpour to the people of Rain, many of whom have never seen sunlight in their lives." Pain responded.

"**The perfect way to bring Ami's people to your side with what we already planned out and convince them of your godhood."** Black Zetsu responded.

"That is the plan. Now we have tasks to attend to in preparation. And the part that you, your master, and this Moyo have to play are pivotal to our success." Pain said.

Zetsu nodded before both the creature and the voiceless member, identified as Moyo, merely walked away.

Time was ticking away until the day of reckoning.

Xxx

_Konoha_

_1 month following the Nibi sealing._

"Alright, today marks one full month with the Nibi in her and there are no signs of damage on the seal. The seal placed on Hinata is effective, we don't have anything to worry about." Jiraiya said to the assembled group consisting of team Minato, Hitomi, and the Third Hokage.

There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone present, Jiraiya included, each for their own personal reasons.

For starter it meant no additional work was required, which carried the distinct possibility of the entire seal being compromised with the slightest mistake in the right spot: resulting in Hinata's death and the release of the Nibi, resulting in even more death.

For team Minato and Jiraiya both it meant they were no longer confined to Konoha.

Jiraiya was free to resume his duties outside as the primary information gather for Konoha as well as his "research."

Rin, Kakashi, and Obito could freely take missions to help ease their finances while leaving at least one of them in the Leaf to take care of Naruto.

The group had unanimously agreed to keep Hiashi in dark about this for the time being, they were all nervous about telling him everything and risk the information somehow reaching the Hyuga Elders that one of their own was the new Nibi Jinchuriki.

Thank the Kami that last minute matters came up that demanded Hiashi's attention and got him away from the delivery room.

Though they were a little perplexed about the convenience of the situation, it was almost as if someone had manufactured it.

Who the hell had helped them was the question.

But back to the matter at hand, Rin had volunteered to take care of Naruto for the first few months before going out on missions again and leaving Kakashi or Obito on care duty.

The thought of either one sitting around taking care of Naruto without wither herself or Mikoto or any other person she trusted who knew how to take care of a child.

'_Dammit! Is this what it feels like to be a parent worrying over their child? Because honestly I'm terrified.'_

**On the more positive note, you're getting valuable experience for later on if you decide to have kids of your own, specifically the worry.**

'_That thought terrifies me even more ironically enough, but I definitely see your point. I think my fearful thoughts about being a parent are based on my own misgivings about myself at my current point in my life.'_

**Oh thank goodness I was on the right subject. I figured that I was but I wanted to be sure that it was, I'll be honest I spaced out a little bit and I thought you may been suffering worries in your shinobi career or love life.**

'_Wow that is mild compared to your usual sarcasm. What is the problem, because you're only quiet and not taking passive aggressive jabs occasionally when something has you distracted so what is it this time?'_

**I feel something putting life at great unease, like the world itself knows something horrible is about to be unleashed. Part of your current worries might be due to our link sharing the unease I can feel in the world attaching itself to and enhancing your woes. Though considering what you are worried about, at least half of it is your own legitimate concerns. **

'_That statement has me worried Isobu, because anytime you voice your concern about something it usually ends up exploding into a nightmare. Dammit! Great! So THANKS for putting me on edge for Kami only knows how long till things finally explode.'_

**Your welcome Rin, I could probably give you more if you would like. **Was the giant turtle's remark

'_Nope, no thank you. Not until things finally blow over with what you just jinxed us with, and even then not for a few months after whatever is going to happen finally settles.' _ Rin concluded her conversation with her mental roommate, for some reason getting the distinct impression that if she was looking at his face when Isobu made that last remark there would be a smug look on his face.

"Rin-chan, are you alright?" a familiar voice said bringing her back to reality completely.

Rin jolted and looked around before her eyes settled on Obito who asked the question that startled her, "Yes, Obito-kun, I'm fine. I got distracted by my thoughts and Turtle started talking."

Snce the fight with the Kumo shinobi, Rin had told both Kakashi and Obito about her freeing Isobu in gratitude for his cooperation in helping takedown Yugito and him deciding that she was the first person in a long time that he believed to be deserving of his power. She told them the same story he had told her about the origin of the Biju and their purpose, as well as their fall from grace due to human being unable to view them as anything but monster.

Kakashi was slightly wary that the Sanbi could theoretically break out at any time, probably due to bad memories from the Kyubi attack only a few months ago, which Isobu admitted was entirely reasonable considering the damage and carnage caused by the Fox, even if the Biju had been set free from Kushina by a third party that possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan according to Minato-sensei and sent on a rampage after being put under that person's power.

Obito had made it clear that he trusted her decision no matter what it was. He only offered concerns that destroying the seal could make it easier for someone to extract Isobu from her. That had her concerned when she heard it, but Isobu assured her that she only destroyed the element that kept him prisoner, the elements that kept others from simply pulling them apart were kept intact. Rin relayed Isobu's assurances which put his fears to rest.

Since the resealing of the Nibi, Rin had come clean about to Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Hitomi, and Mikoto about the means she resorted to in order to be able to defeat Yugito. The looks of surprise on their faces was honestly the most hilarious thing she had seen since Kushina's death.

It took a while to convince Jiraiya and Hiruzen that Isobu wasn't a threat and was not the monster that countless had refused to believe that the Biju were anything but those monsters.

Though when she got to telling everyone about what all Isobu told her about the Sage of Six Paths Jiraiya looked as though he had heard it some of it before while some of it looked as though he was hearing it for the first time. When she asked about it, Jiraiya merely said he would talk later.

Both Rin and Isobu were very interested in what Jiraiya had to say. Hopefully he would speak before he left Konoha.

Xxx

_Concurrently in Konoha_

Fugaku was feeling satisfied.

Izayoi had finally gone and tried to order Fugaku to marry Itachi or Sasuke to Hiashi's daughter again. Though this time he had been given fair warning in advanced to the consequences for doing it again.

Fugaku had originally never intended to follow through on that idea he had a few months ago but what had just happened made him follow through on his threat.

It had pretty much been like almost every other time the old fool had advised/ordered Fugaku to pressure Hiashi into agreeing to marry either Itachi or Sasuke to the girl who was only a month old. Fugaku had told him no and further more reminded Izayoi of his threat being carried out unless the man changed his tone. However this time the man's reaction to being told no was far more volatile.

He had demanded it be done or he would organize a mutiny against Fugaku and remove him from power and then have it done.

It took Fugaku a moment to register that the bastard had threaten violence and mutiny to see his demand accomplished. Then another to figure out why Izayoi wanted it done, he was in league with the other elders plotting the coup. He wanted to tie the Hyuga leadership to the Uchihas so they would hopefully support the revolt.

Which brings him back to the now.

"So what will your answer be? Will you do it willingly or will I have to remove you from power?" Izayoi questioned.

"Uchiha Izayoi, do you have any idea what you have just done? I had no desire to carry out my threat in letter rather than spirit, but you have just given me reason and cause to." Fugaku responded.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the old Uchiha asked.

"You just threatened your clan head with mutiny and violence. Mutiny within a clan's leadership is allowed when there is the threat of the clan plotting against the village. However your mutiny is plotted to rally both the Uchiha and Hyuga to rebellion against the village in hopes of achieving supremacy over it. You have just given me the authority to pass my own judgement, you shall be executed in front of the other elders to make an example out of you." Fugaku stated, killing intent radiating off of him slightly more with every few words.

Izayoi quickly reached for something behind his back before Fugaku quickly grabbed a kunai and stabbed into the man's dominant arm, before breaking the man's other arm. Fugaku quickly pulled Izayoi's other arm to see what he was reaching for, what he found was no surprise, a dagger coated with snake venom which Fugaku recognized as being from the snakes that nested in the mushroom forests that surrounded Kusagakure. This was made to ensure death no matter how light the wound.

Age and relying on surprise when the blade was not expected had dulled the once fierce ninja, and Fugaku had seen it coming the moment Izayoi threatened violence to depose Fugaku.

"Seto, get in here." Fugaku shouted to one of the guards.

"Yes, Fugaku-sama… what the hell?" the man said.

"Izayoi was planning to incite mutiny for control of the clan and attempted to assassinate me. Have his chakra sealed and bring him to the clan's meeting hall, then have the other elders brought there alongside the rest of the clan. I'm ending this stupidity." Fugaku declared.

"As you wish Fugaku-sama." The guard said before leaving with the battered old man to carry out his orders.

The clan was assembled as asked within an hour. The only Uchiha who was missing was Obito for him having left the clan.

Fugaku began to speak: "I thank you all for coming on such short notice, please leave questions till later to ensure this goes as quickly as possible. By now you probably have noticed Izayoi and his sorry state. He and half of our elders have been conspiring to rally our clan to rebellion against the village in hopes of establishing dominance over the entirety of Konoha.

Izayoi had been ordering me to marry one of my sons to the daughter of Hyuga Hiashi, in hopes of using her to drive the clan to assist them in this coup. I had been refusing to carry out his demand out of respect for Hiashi and love for my sons, neither of whom deserve having to be forced into a marriage at this age to appease the demands of senile old men who are still haunted by ghosts that have long since passed on.

However ealier today he once again demanded me to arrange the marriage. When I refused him, Izayoi demanded that I do it or else he would have me removed, with or without violence, and have it done himself. When I explained the error of his statement he reached for a poisoned dagger he held on his person to assassinate me. I stopped him and had his ability to mold chakra removed. The dagger was coated with the venom from Kusa's infamous mushroom shadow snake, the poison of which is lethal and highly damaging to the body.

Izayoi has been interrogated while I awaited you all to arrive and he has confessed his intentions. This is not a trial, this is judgement. This is an example being made."

Fugaku turned to Izayoi: "You knew the consequences of ordering me on how to run this clan the last time you tried to command me. Do you have any last words?"

The man only shot a look of venom at Fugaku before going to say something that was most likely meant to incite rebellion.

However before the words even left his mouth, his throat was slashed by Fugaku, ending the elder's life.

Fugaku turned to the elders who had attempted to incite rebellion before: "Izayoi is an example of what happens when you overstep the authority your position allows. The purpose of the elders is to use their experience to advise the clan head on how to best lead the clan. You would do well to remember that unless you wish to share his fate."

He then dismissed everyone before moving towards Mikoto who had Sasuke in her arms and Itachi at her side.

Xxx

_2 month later_

The countryside within the Land of Tea

'_How the hell did I end up in this mess?'_ was the thought that circled in Obito's mind as he stared down a Kiri Nin not much older than himself

What had happened was that Kakashi and Obito had been assigned to guard a noble who was visiting friends in the Land of Tea, no major trouble was expected but they were assigned due to the noble himself being a relatively high value target to bandits and on the off chance shinobi from other villages were sent after the man.

The bandits were easy to deal with whenever they did attack, barely worth the effort. They welcomed the easy low risk fights after Yugito's infiltration. They made it to the man's destination in Tea relatively good time without too many distractions.

However the return trip was where everything went to hell.

First off he refused to get instantly brought back to Konoha, said he wanted a chance to enjoy this country's scenery.

That proved to be a horrible mistake, it left them vulnerable to additional attacks and any attacks by enemy shinobi should they come.

Well they did indeed come.

Two Kiri Nin had been sent after Obito and Kakashi's client, apparently hired by one or more of the noble's rivals to kill him, however not expecting that the man would have hired jonins.

The moment that their intent had become apparent Obtio grabbed the client and pulled him into the Kamui world.

Kakashi recognized the elder of the pair from the Bingo Book apparently, and moved in a way to indicate he would take that one. That was just fine with Obito, he also just barely noticed Kakashi covering his Sharingan after having it uncovered to respond to the initial attack. However Obito realized that there was more to the story when the opponent yelled out upon recognizing who Kakashi was. This was something personal for the Kiri Nin, while for Kakashi it was just another opponent, but he had every intention of using that unbalanced anger to take his opponent down.

Then Obito took a moment to look at his opponent for any obvious signs of anything he could use to formulate a general plan of how to take on his opponent.

The boy was barely older than Kakashi and Obito but he carried himself like war veterans who had seen multiple wars.

However Obito noticed the sword that the boy carried at his side and recognized it as one used by a Seven Swordsman hopeful, usually designed after the sword they hopped to one day use.

But Obito was more interested in the jutsu he would most likely know: Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu and he might have some unique Water Release jutsu.

He obviously hadn't put together that Obito was an Uchiha, or else he would be more cautious in his stance.

He also hadn't figured out that Kakashi had placed a small genjutsu on him that screwed with his ability to recognize certain things. Most usefully this could be used to throw off an opponent's ability to identify the Sharingan. Kakashi had given Obito a bone while he had his Sharingan uncovered, Kakashi did know just how bad Obito wanted that particular Jutsu and figured this would be the opponent who would most likely have it.

This genjutsu made it a hell of a lot easier to copy jutsu off an opponent who did not believe there was a reason to be worried about their jutsu being copied.

The fight began with attacker flying through hand signs. Obito's Sharingan finished predicting his movements before he began attacking. _'He's opening with Water Bullet, probably to distract from his real opening move. More than likely he's trying to distract me from his real move.' _"Water Release: Water Bullet!"

The attack came and Obito quickly avoided it but then another barrage of water bullets came from the left and just about made contact with him.

'_He made a clone to attack as well. The barrage from in front was more powerful than the one that tried to blindside me, so I'm guessing he used a water clone and the one I'm facing is the real one.'_ Obito quickly flew through hand signs before screaming: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" spewing a fireball towards the one he assumed was the clone.

The attack made contact and the clone splattered from the attack.

'_Why don't I simply implant a suggestion to use the jutsu, copy it, grab Kakashi, and warp out of here? Ok just make sure it is subtle enough for him to not question it.'_ Obito thought as he placed the suggestion into his opponent's head with his Sharingan.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"_ 'IT WORKED! HAHA I GOT IT!'_

Obtio ran through hand signs to cover his escape: "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

"You copied me?" his opponent screamed, not knowing that his opponent had already escaped.

Kakashi was in the middle of hiding from his opponent when Obito appeared next to him: "Kakashi, I got the jutsu, we're getting out of here."

"Alright." Was the laconic response.

They were back home in a moment.

However Rin looked like she was being seriously bothered by something.

"What's wrong Rin-chan?" Obito asked.

Rin responded: "Something is happening, Obito-kun, something that is spooking Isobu. He isn't making sense, occasionally he's muttering things that has me terrified. He saying his father's power has returned.

He's asking why that power is being used like this and I have no idea why he is saying that."

Xxx

_Land of Rain _

_2 hours later_

"I must admit, I don't know how you managed to separate me from my men but you must be skilled if you did so without me noticing." One figure said, wearing a poncho and the uniform of Amegakure with a breather mask.

"We had help to set this event in place, but we have been planning this for a while." A woman wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it with a straw hat on her head covering her face in shadows.

"Alright then, you seem to know who you're dealing with seeing as you sent seven of you. Who are you?" the first man asked again.

"Do you recognize us?" the one at front of the group asked before pulling his hat off but keeping his eyes shut. The woman also removed her hat but stared at their opponent.

"You two are Yahiko and Konan, the two from that Akatsuki group I dealt with a few years ago. How are you still alive?" the man asked

"You are right, Hanzo. Yahiko did die, he killed himself using the kunai you gave me to save Konan. And I died as well that moment, I had been known as Uzumaki Nagato, and from that moment I, Pain, was born. I am a god of peace who will tear down this shinobi world that tears itself apart in the name of vengeance, just as I will kill you to avenge my friend and to end your tyranny over Amegakure and the Land of Rain. I will strike the pain of loss deep into this world, all will know the same pain and they shall throw away the concept of war. I will end the cycle of hatred and vengeance and it starts here today with your death." Pain declared as he opened his eyes showing the rippled, purple designed.

"Bold words coming from a walking corpse. So who are the rest of these soon to be corpses?" Hanzo asked.

At the moment, the other five removed their hats and opened their eyes.

They were all the same rippled, purple design.

Pain answered alongside the other men, as one: "We are the power of the Sage of Six Paths reborn! We are the Six Paths of Pain and we shall be the end of you, Hanzo the Salamander!"

A battle to determine the fate Ame and the Land of Rain was about to begin, and the result would determine the course of the Elemental Nations for the next few decades.

End chapter 4

**How was that for a chapter, it was crazy to write. The original chapter 4 was started on 10-22-2019 but wasn't brought to initial completion until 10-27-2019.**

**The current chapter 4 was finished 1/19/2020. **

**I had originally intended to include the battle with Hanzo as well but I don't have it in me right now. I was actually going to have an explanation for Obito's Mangekyo, but it got scrapped as I came too close to my set deadline. I'm going to take a small break before redoing chapter 5, I am not giving a date for that one.**

**Reviews help me figure out what I need to fix. Please do not be rude, there is a distinct difference between providing constructive criticism and being rude.**

**Until next Time: SEE YA LATER!**


	5. The Dawning Fate of Amegakure

Seals of Fate

**Welcome to what I proudly announce as the very first chapter of Seals of Fate to be written in its entirety in the year 2020. I don't really have much to say other than let's start it off with a BANG! And what bigger way to do this than a fight that few in the Naruto Fanfic community show us and, to my knowledge, the anime and manga themselves never really give us any details about: **

**KONAN AND THE SIX PATHS OF PAIN VS HANZO THE SALAMANDER! **

**The document for this chapter was created on 1/21/2020, a few days after the previous one was uploaded. I apologize for however long this may take due to me having returned to Fire Emblem, both Three Houses on Switch and Awakening on 3DS, which will probably end up in a return to Fates and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on the 3DS at some point as well.**

**Quick Pre-release note: I finished the Verdant Wind route of Three Houses, the last Path in the game that I had not played through, in between the writing of the previous note and finishing the chapter. I had started the path before I went back to the game but I had suffered from one of my bouts of choice paralysis and time crunch frustration that the game's Persona style school system induces in me. God help me, Cindered Shadows, A DLC story line for FE: Three Houses, is due to release tonight from what I have heard. I hope it is a full campaign like FE Fates Revelation was rather than just a mere side story unless it does some things interestingly enough. If it is a full campaign, I won't be working on the next chapter this weekend. **

**Enough of my Fire Emblem rambling, LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I would have devoted a segment to a whole Pain and Hanzo fight.**

Chapter 5

The Dawning Fate of Amegakure

_Land of Rain_

"We are the power of the Sage of Six Paths reborn! We are the Six Paths of Pain and we shall be the end of you, Hanzo the Salamander!"

That one declaration, given by the self-proclaimed God of Peace Pain, had marked the beginning of a battle that had been in the making ever since Hanzo had been manipulated into attacking the original Akatsuki by Danzo. A man who feared Akatsuki taking power in Ame because they were new, and therefore highly unknown and unpredictable; thus conspiring with Hanzo to destroy their growing influence and keep a paranoid old tyrant in power because he was predictable compared to the young and new peace organization.

'_Danzo was going to be one of my targets after we finished with Hanzo but it appears that the naïve Konoha grew up and realized his treachery before he could spread more of his poison.'_ Pain thought as his mind raced as his bodies entered their stances, each designed with their strengths and weaknesses in mind.

Months of planning, training, and co-ordination made today even possible.

Zetsu creating a false Hanzo to trick the men he was leading.

Moyo trapping Hanzo with a false scenery genjutsu, to make him unaware of his men's absence.

Madara planting the suggestion to come here after a note had been left in Hanzo's office a week ago.

All had led to this battle.

Pain took the first attack: "Let us BEGIN!"

With the command, the Asura, Animal, and Human Paths began their offensives: the soul reading and extracting Human Path rushing in for a Taijutsu clash, the mechanical and puppet like Asura Path firing off missiles to cover it, and the summoning master Animal Path retreating some distance back to begin summoning the creatures tied to it.

Konan was hanging back to cover Pain should Hanzo bypass the initial offensive. Her primary role was to ensure that Hanzo couldn't take control of the battle by destroying the Naraka Path, while capitalizing on any openings Pain managed to create.

Should she fail, any chance of victory would be snatched from them by the jaws of most likely certain defeat.

That left the chakra absorbing Preta Path, the gravity controlling Deva Path, and the healer of the Six Paths as well as the controller of the King of Hell summon: the Naraka Path.

The strategy was planned for ensuring Hanzo could not gain enough of an advantage to begin forcing the remnant of Yahiko's Akatsuki to fight on his terms.

The Akatsuki duo would have not required such a strategy to fight most opponents, but Hanzo was not most opponents. He may be past his prime but he never let his training slip and continued to improve.

There was no telling what he had created since his legendary battle against the Sannin.

'_Yahiko, watch over us. Because you shall be avenged and your dream of peace shall be carried on starting today!'_ Pain thought as his mind raced to predict how Hanzo would respond to the attack and how the Rinnegan bearer would respond.

The Animal Path reached what Pain had deemed a safe distance and initiated the Summoning Jutsu to begin bringing forth the summons that were vital to the plan.

As the Human Path meet Hanzo in the middle of their mutual charge, but before it could make contact, Hanzo swiped with the blade of his kusarigama and took the right hand off the Human Path before smashing the chained weight of his weapon into the corpse puppet's face.

'_The Human Path is down, that blow destroyed its brain. It will need to be repaired by the Naraka Path in order for it to be reactivated, and considering the uses of the Path's ability to control souls it will be a good idea, and even then reactivating the Path would at least give me a meat shield to sacrifice to protect a more vital Path.'_ Pain thought as Hanzo began rushing towards his Deva, Asura, Preta, and Naraka Paths after moving past the corpse of the Human Path and avoided the Asura Path's missile attack.

Pain realized Hanzo was rushing the Deva Path and quickly reacted by issuing mental orders: _'Asura Path: Intercept him! Naraka Path: Repair the Human Path!' _which the mechanical Pain responded by getting in front to block the charge and the Naraka Path responded by quietly moving towards the corpse of the fallen Path.

Hanzo swung his blade intending to take the head of the Asura Path before following up by beheading the one who he believed was the leader. His surprise was made very clear when the Asura Path grabbed the blade and was not sliced apart.

Hanzo tried to remove his blade from the grip of the Puppet-like Path, but it refused to give any ground.

Hanzo attempted to break the new stalemate by smashing the weighted end of the chain attached to his kusarigama against the Asura Path's head, only for the Mechanical Path to simply take the blow and shrug it off, with a clear dent put into the side of the Path's head but the damage was slowly fixing itself.

By this point the Naraka Path had finished repairing the Human Path's brain and right hand, then Pain reactivated the corpse puppet which slunk towards the encounter between Hanzo and the Asura Path, in hopes of being able to land a cheap blow that could help speed the fight along before it became a war of attrition.

Pain began to move his Deva Path's hand to aim an attack to push Hanzo to the Human Path, having the Asura Path release its grip on Hanzo's weapon, and then unleashing his attack: "Shinra Tensei."

Hanzo eyes went surprised as he felt gravity swap to pushing him away from his attacker. However his instincts warned him of a sneak attack and he quickly grabbed a kunai and threw it towards the Human Path which was approaching him from behind. The corpse puppet was able to respond in time due to the linked sight of the Six Paths and got out of the way, unsure if it had the strength to deflect Hanzo's thrown kunai. Hanzo was sent flying backwards a great distance.

Konan decided to attack while Hanzo was preoccupied by his impromptu flight: "Paper Shuriken!" sending multiple paper projectiles in the shape of shuriken at Hanzo who was able to destroy all but two which made contact and drew blood. They however only dealt flesh wounds.

Then Hanzo collided with a cliff in the outer part of the area where this fight was taking place. Ending the gravity swap that had been inflicted upon him.

Pain began counting mentally the duration until he could use the Deva Path's abilities again, while also thinking about the fight so far_: 'Konan managed to do more with her Paper Shuriken then I was expecting, but it appears to have been little more than a flesh wound. But it appears the shockwaves from both the Asura Path's initial attack as well as his collision with that cliff has at least caused some damage to him.'_

"I know I killed that one," Hanzo began, referring to the Human Path, before continuing: "So I believe that is safe to assume that one of your little assassins possesses an unprecedented level of Medical Ninjutsu that would put even Senju Tsunade to shame. Based on the now intact assassin, I believe that the one who possesses the capability is able to fully reattach and rehabilitate severed limbs in seconds, as well as lethal damage, up to and including severe brain damage. Perhaps those eyes of your truly are the Rinnegan. Perhaps there is truth to your claim. You have proven that there is some credibility to you 'Six Paths of Pain.' I will remember the time I dueled and killed a Rinnegan bearer and his followers."

Pain kept his outward calm whilst mildly panicking in his mind: _'This is bad. If he figures out which one is the Naraka Path and he destroys it, we will be in a tight situation. I would have to summon its remains to my real body and then repair, before re-summoning it with the Animal Path, costing time and energy. We need to prevent him from figuring it out.'_

Pain wracked his brain for ideas on how to quickly end the fight before Hanzo took away any chance for victory, before he came up with one.

'_It's risky, but if we can put him where the Deva Path can push or pull him into a position where I can bring him towards the Human Path, we can end the fight by extracting his soul. It would rely on chance and Hanzo not catching on till it is too late. I will need for the Deva Path to be fully recharged before we can end this. _

_The Animal Path summoned two of the creatures tied to it. I can work with just them. Animal Path, cease summoning and bring the two summons that were summoned here. Preta Path, charge Hanzo. Asura Path, prepare to attack. Human Path, go to the Deva Path. Naraka Path, go towards Konan.' _

No sooner than when the Paths began carrying out their orders did Hanzo begin his own attack: "But this has gone on long enough!" before beginning to rapidly form a massive set of hand seals.

Pain's dojutsu slowed down the image long enough to recognize seals in the sequence.

His eyes went wide when he recognized which jutsu he had seen whose sequence were contained within Hanzo's attack: _'That sequence contains the sequence used in the Great Fire Dragon Stream as well as some other strong Fire Release techniques. Whatever this one is, it is going to be massive considering the number of seals he is going through. The Preta Path doesn't have enough time to reach him and drain out his chakra, and even if it could reach him in time, there's no certainty that the Preta Path could actually drain enough chakra to stop or weaken the attack. I have to defend in order to keep my plan on track. Konan, the Naraka Path, the Animal Path and its summons are probably out of the range for this jutsu, whatever it is. I need to protect my other Paths. Preta Path, break off charge and prepare to unleash the absorption barrier.'_

As the chakra absorbing Path began to carry out Pain's newest mental order, he issued one to the Asura Path: _'Attack. Asura Path Missile.'_

The path did as ordered and raised its right arm and fired off the armament hidden within its arm.

However Hanzo did nothing to avoid the attack as it approached, nor did he even make a move to eliminate the incoming projectile.

'_He's confident that whatever his next move is going to be that it will stop that it will stop my attack. The moment of truth is here, he's getting ready to unleash it.'_ Pain thought as Hanzo reached the end of his sequence.

"FIRE RELEASE: BURNING BREATH OF THE SALAMANDER!"

With the shout, Hanzo breathed out a massive fireball that went roaring towards the four Paths. Consuming the missile that the Walking Arsenal known as the Asura Path had launched.

The heavy set Preta Path moved to the front of the group and said: "Preta Path: Chakra Absorption Barrier!" as the fireball neared and the Path began absorbing the chakra out of the attack.

As this occurred, the Naraka Path reached Konan and she asked: "Has there been a change to the plan?"

The Path nodded: "He has figured out the Naraka Path's abilities. We need to end him before he figures out which one it is and destroys the body. This fight needs to be ended as fast as possible. Even faster than the original plan had entailed. We need to get him into a position where the Human Path can extract Hanzo's soul."

Konan nodded before she said something else: "That flame Hanzo is breathing looks awfully strange. I wonder why?"

Pain's Naraka Path was silent for a moment, as Pain was analyzing the visual information of the Paths who had better views, before he responded: "It doesn't appear to be a standard Fire Release Technique, and it seems to be newly developed and in the middle of refinement for easier use in tight situations. We must have pushed him to use it. Though the original plan accounted for him summoning Ibuse, rather than using a newly developed technique. Though it seems that this technique has been tested before. Though considering how many seals he ran through, he had to of only used it with the distance my Shinra Tensei put between us."

Konan nodded before going to attention: "Hanzo is starting to stop the attack. What do I need to do?"

The Naraka Path looked her in the eye before responding: "Converge with the rest of the Paths. We need all of us attacking to set up the final blow."

With that, the Path and Konan rushed forward, intending to finish the fight as soon as possible.

From the eyes of the Deva Path, the massive attack had finally ended. Most of the paths were untouched by the attack. Only the cloaks worn by the Preta and Asura path were damaged by the attack, with the Asura Path's cloak being completely destroyed and the Preta Path's being somewhat singed.

Hanzo only expressed his surprise at the apparently still living bodies with only a single sentence: "So you haven't been burned to cinders by that attack." A statement rather than a question.

However before he could attack, a massive appendage swung out and swiped him, hurling him before he could respond due to both surprise and exhaustion.

When Hanzo recovered his bearings, he saw a giant Chameleon, bearing Rinnegans in its eyes, a snake head at the tip of its tail, and a tentacle on its back with a similar piercing to the Paths through the tentacle, standing near where he himself was moments ago.

Then a giant lobster creature, with Rinnegan like eyes and a piercing as well, crawled into Hanzo periphery with the missing assassin who disappeared at the start of the battle standing on its head.

All the Paths, the two Animal Path summons, and Konan all converged into a single group before rushing at the Salamander.

Hanzo responded, determined to take down this fledgling Akatsuki.

"Ninja Art: Explosive Circle!" Hanzo yelled after he threw the disk lined with Explosive notes and made a single sign, arming the explosive tags.

However Konan responded with a few hand signs of her own before naming her out counter: "Origami Release: Command of the Shikigami!"

With those words the explosive tag circle halted its movement before the tags removed themselves from the circle and flew towards Hanzo, exploding once the tags were close enough.

However Hanzo rushed through the clouds kicked up by the explosions before continuing towards the group.

When the two sides converged, a melee ensued. Most of the paths and Konan attacking Hanzo. Only the Human Path was completely uninvolved in the Taijutsu clash. The Deva Path was involved but only at the bare minimum to set up the hopeful outcome.

Fist clashed with fist and chakra receiver rods being used as swords along with Origami Release enhance paper swords clashed with kusarigama, neither gaining a clear advantage.

However Hanzo took a swipe at Konan at a moment where she had no opportunity to pull entirely out of the way. She winced expecting to feel a sharp pain and a noticeable lack of weight on her right arm but when she looked at her arm, only to find it completely detached as expected but made of paper rather than meat and blood.

She looked at the arm still attached and noticed the same thing before noticing that the entirety of her body was in a paper like state. She issued a hand sign and the paper making up her right arm dispersed before reattaching to the rest of her body, completing her right arm.

Like it had never been removed at all.

Hanzo looked more surprised than angry: "I was not expecting to ever see an Origami Release user ever again after their complete, or should I say near-complete, annihilation in-between the 1st and 2nd Great Ninja Wars. But today has been full of things I thought I would never see. I also thought I would never see one perform the Dance of the Shikigami again before I enter the Pure World."

Papers swirled and obeyed Konan's commands completely and began to slash and swipe at Hanzo. All the while extra paper formed up on her back and formed wings.

And the brawl continued once more, with Konan attacking with far more power now that her new power had manifested.

A while and a good many landed blows both on the Akatsukis and Hanzo later, the finishing moment drew near.

Jutsu had been thrown and both sides knew that they needed to end it soon, feeling the drain on their chakra.

Hanzo slashed at the Animal Path only for the summoned Lobster creature it stood on to with grasp the blade of his kusarigama tightly with its claw.

Hanzo fought to free his weapon when movement in the corner of his eye caused him to move to avoid an attack.

Hanzo released his grip on his weapon when the Snake head of the chameleon lunged at his hand looking to bite him.

And that gave the Deva Path Pain, who stood behind Hanzo from a fair distance back, the opportunity he needed.

Pain aimed his hand and uttered his attack's name softly: "Bansho Ten'in."

With those words, Hanzo was pulled towards the Deva Path and by extension the Human Path which had slipped into position unnoticed thanks to the chaos.

Hanzo was powerless to stop thanks to his injuries acquired during the fight and the melee and the loss of his weapon. Feeling a wrong sensation when the Human Path's opened hands made contact with him before pulling away to reveal a green orb, and with it, Hanzo's life was taken away from him.

Hanzo the Salamander, who stalemated even the Legendary Sannin and dubbed them that for being able to hold the line against him, had perished.

However in those moments that Pain clutched the soul of his enemy, he saw everything that filled Hanzo's memories, of how a man who dreamed of peace in the elemental nations fell and became a paranoid tyrant.

Eventually Pain let go, allowing the soul to move on to the next world.

Konan asked: "What shall we do with the body?"

Pain responded from the Deva Path: "Bury him alongside the honored dead of Ame, he has more than earned that much, even if he fell from grace and became that monster we had to kill."

Konan nodded, uneasy about Hanzo receiving such honors, but was willing to go along with it if Pain believed it was warranted.

Moving on from that, Konan asked: "What shall we do now?"

Pain responded: "Announce Hanzo's death to the men he brought with him, earn their loyalty and trust, and have them head back to Ame. Then we will regroup with Shigure, rest a day, get my real body inside of Ame, and finally make the announcement."

Konan nodded

But a question nagged both of their minds: Why on earth was that fight so easy?

But a simple look from each other communicated that both of them thought it, but neither had an answer.

Konan cleared the silence: "Nagato, Thank you. Thank you for helping me get revenge for our friend."

Pain nodded: "I told you that there was no need to worry, Yahiko was my friend as well."

Konan nodded before she and the rest of the Paths walked off, ready to begin the plan to bring peace to the world.

Xxx

_Land of Fire_

_Konoha _

_Following the conclusion of the battle in Rain_

Rin took in a deep breath and let it out in relief.

She had no idea what exactly caused Isobu to go into… whatever it was, but she definitely didn't want it to happen again.

His moaning and delirious rambling frightened her. The things he was saying in his delirium inspired great amount of terror in her due to his story about being created by the Sage of Six Paths, and begging for an answer on why his father's power was being used for whatever.

However what shook her more was the clear suffering of someone close to her that she could hear but due to his condition, she was unable to communicate herself to him nor try to comfort him and ease whatever he was going through.

It was looking at a loved one suffering and hearing their pain and being unable to comfort them. The thought of having to look on at it powerlessly again was a hell she hoped to never experience.

But whatever had happened was over, Isobu was quiet but she doubted he was in any condition to talk. More than likely he would need rest and time or else he could be sent spiraling back into another episode. Rin had decided to wait till everyone else had gone to sleep and she had gotten Naruto to settle down and go to sleep.

Her mind had started wondering if the Kyubi or Nibi within Naruto and Hinata respectively had gone through similar… events that Isobu had just finished going through. But then her mind started backing up and getting a view from a higher vantage point, wondering if the other Biju had similar breakdowns and if their Jinchurikis at least cared about their Biju's well-being.

Obito seemed to be somewhat worried with her sudden drop in demeanor a few hours ago. She felt a little guilty when she found out that after their little conversation earlier, Obito had taken up her supper duty for the night. She hoped Kakashi wouldn't be waking up in the middle of the tonight for impromptu bathroom visits for any reason. He claimed it was better than Obito's usual bad cooking but still not good.

By the time Rin got around to eating her leftovers, and found Kakashi's claim to be correct.

Obito's cooking had definitely improved over the last 3 years, but he still had a long way to go before he could make a meal that could be served without needing to ensure a bathroom was nearby.

But any further thought was cut off by her roommate returning to consciousness.

**Ugh.**

'_Isobu, are you alright?'_ Rin asked, concerned about her partner.

**Better now, yes. How long was I unconscious?**

'_About four hours, and you weren't unconscious you were delirious and spouting out a bunch of nonsense. Which I might add, if any of it is serious, I would be absolutely terrified.'_

**No this is not good, whatever triggered my episode was something that is to be cautious of. What did I say?**

'_You were saying a lot of things but most notably you were begging your father for an answer on why his power was being used for this, whatever it was.'_

Isobu's moaning wetn completely quiet before he gasped out a response: **…what?**

It was quiet for almost a minute afterwards before Rin sat down on the futon she had in her room and began meditating, entering into the place created inside the seal where Isobu stayed.

The turtle looked as though he was panicking and questioning a lot of things.

"Hey Isobu, don't start another panic attack, try to stay focused." Rin said fearing what might happen if his thoughts reached the wrong

**Right. I'm just worried about some things.**

"Don't keep me in the dark, try to talk to me. Remember, whatever happens, we're in it together."

**I remember.**

Rin smiled before continuing. "Alright. Now, to put my fears to rest and to answer a question that we will be asked soon, what happened?"

**You said I went delirious. If I went into a delirious state, it can only mean a few things and that I'm close enough to be affected that badly by one of them. And none of the possibilities are good.**

"Like your father's power returning and being used for a purpose that taints it?" Rin asked taking a shot based on her partner's rambling.

**That is my assumption, yes.**

"So, what is the plan?" Rin asked

**For now, keep our ears to the ground for any suspicious sounding news and redouble certain training efforts. We'll figure out anything else we can do later.**

"Sounds good to me. See ya tomorrow, Iso… " Rin said as she turned to leave before trailing off and stopping in her tracks.

**What's wrong?**

"Do you think that the Kyubi and Nibi underwent something similar?" Rin asked face filled with terror.

**No, I don't think they did. Their freshly sealed with extremely powerful sealing arrays. I doubt either of their minds will be active again for quite some time, it may be years but they will reawaken before a decade and a half has passed.**

Rin let out a sigh of relief before continuing: "That is a relief! See ya tomorrow Isobu."

With that Rin left the mindscape and soon fell asleep with her mind put at ease.

However Isobu remained and sighed in contempt at himself.

'_**I'm sorry Rin, but this needs to be kept secret for now.' **_The turtle bitterly thought to himself

It hurt to lie, if only by omission, to her after she began treating him like an equal rather than a piece of property, but the new circumstances called for a new approach.

Especially after what she had just told him about his delirium, he was begging his father for an answer on why his power had returned yet was being misused.

There was only one thing that could likely trigger that response: Someone had gained the Rinnegan and had unleashed its ower with

Isobu had been planning on gradually exposing Rin to more and more of his chakra over the course of years to have her develop stronger tolerances towards the power.

The whole reason he infused a part of his chakra into her system was to accelerate her natural growth, as well as her growing tolerance to higher concentrations of his power over extended periods of exposure.

The idea was to gradually strengthen Rin until she was ready to seek out the temple that Hagoromo had left behind after gaining some measure of control over the Jyubi's power. Isobu never heard of an exact location, but he had heard enough about the surrounding landscape of the temple to infer a few possibilities of where it could be.

The most likely guess was the back of Genbu, the Island turtle and one of the eldest beings alive, who was infamous for being extremely tricky to find.

Though considering that Matatabi's previous Jinchuriki and Gyuki's current Jinchuriki both held the ability to fully transform into their partners, perhaps their village knew where to find Genbu.

Perhaps they had used the information left behind by Hagoromo detailing what he did to safely harness and control the Jyubi's chakra to create a method for a Jinchuriki of one of the nine Biju to gain complete control over their Biju.

'_**I doubt they would be willing to share that information with us unless Rin defected to Kumo. And when they find out about Yugito's death and Matatabi's removal, they will be even more unlikely to ally and share the information. Unless something drastic happens, we aren't getting their information nor access to Genbu if they know where he is.' **_

Isobu was more than capable enough to get Rin to the standard perfect Jinchuriki, able to harness their Biju's power without being influenced. But it wouldn't hurt to try to figure out how they managed to

Perhaps Matatabi would be willing to share if asked when her mind reawakened from being sealed.

However back to the part that he would be able to do his own, Isobu's thoughts turned towards the time crunch that now stood before him and Rin.

Isobu had hoped to be able to take his time in getting her there but the sensing of the events of today showed him that time was not on their side, forcing him to speed up his timetable.

If the calculation Isobu did concerning his accelerated time table was correct, Rin would achieve a complete mastery of the Version 1 and Version 2 cloak within 8 years, and a full mastery of the Near Release State not too long after.

Only time would tell if things would go as planned, but he had faith that it would.

It may not be perfect, but it would do for now.

'_**Though I dread the day when not perfect will not do.'**_

Xxx

_The Land of Rain_

_Within Amegakure_

_4 days later_

The people of the Rain Village had sensed an aura of sheer dread ever since Hanzo's men returned from their excursion a few days ago.

While that had some at ease for a while due to having the living families together, it soon gave way to a realization everyone became aware of and had even greater dread or outright fear due to:

No one had seen nor heard anything from or about Hanzo ever since his men had returned late at night after everyone but guards and sentries had gone to sleep, with Hanzo among them supposedly.

Everyone was scared but no one quite agreed on what it could be.

However the summons given to every citizen of Amegakure to assemble at the foot of Hanzo's Tower gave rise to even greater dread at what could be getting ready to happen.

Once everyone assembled and was sorted into positions where they could see whoever would be speaking from the balcony that served as the stand where either Hanzo or one of his commanders would give speeches when necessary or impart important news.

But to everyone surprise, when the door opened, it wasn't Hanzo and a few guards who emerged.

It was an orange headed man and a light blue headed woman, both wearing black cloaks adorned with red clouds.

Then to everyone's collective horror, the man held up his hand to reveal what he held in it: Hanzo's Kusarigama, clearly recognizable as Hanzo's due to the almost harpoon like design of the blade.

"People of Amegakure! Allow me to introduce my partner as well as myself. This is Konan, my right hand, and I am Pain, the God of Peace that this world desperately needs." To accentuate his point, Pain opened his eyes which had been held shut until now and the people took a collective gasp of shock as they recognized his Dojutsu: The Rinnegan, the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

Maybe his claims of being a god weren't as far-fetched as they seemed.

"As you can see, I hold in my Hanzo's favored Kusarigama. I have no need for such a weapon, but it serves its purpose in bringing your attention to me. To answer the question of why I have it, the answer is quite simple: Konan and I battled him and we killed Hanzo the Salamander." The stunned silence was the only response they had for Pain.

"I call myself a God of Peace because it is my goal to end the cycle of hatred and vengeance that tears apart this Shinobi World. I was born in this land and saw how it was damaged and defiled by the chaos of the 2nd Great Ninja War. How the Great villages are willing to wage war on one another, but it is the people and lands of the minor villages that ultimately suffer the worst. The simple solution would be to kill the Gokage and assume their authority, but to kill them would bring forth the cycle of vengeance.

Whenever someone kills someone, they inevitable kill someone's friend or loved one. Vengeance is desired by the grieving and they reap it by taking the lives of those who stole their loved ones' lives from them. This cycle continues endlessly and pointlessly. Even Konan and I are not immune to this. We sought Hanzo's death in the name of revenge because he stole the life of someone we loved, all because my dear friend desired peace and it threatened Hanzo's power as a Dictator. But it was through that suffering that I realized that the best way to honor my fallen friend was to take up his dream of peace. That day Hanzo forced me to end my friend's life killed the boy I once was and gave birth to Pain, who sought to bring peace no matter what." Pain elaborated.

"My ancestor, the Father of Ninjutsu and the legendary bearer of the eyes I possess, believed that the key to peace was by everyone understanding one another. This is foolishly idealistic, but not without a grain of truth: if people can understand the pain that war causes to everyone, then they will abandon it to avoid causing more suffering that they now understand in everyone. To do this, I would have to strike at the heart of this Shinobi World with such force and power that no one will ever think about lifting a weapon or molding a jutsu in the name of waging war ever again.

However, humanity has often forgotten vital lessons it has learned and needed to be reminded of from time to time, like a child. To that end, I would have to strike against this world with such ferocity that none shall ever forget. I will not ask you to be part of my direct plan to accomplish this but I will ask: will you stand with me and help see this world of peace made a reality?" Pain asked the audience

"We'll follow you wherever you choose to lead us, Pain-sama!" cried one of the ninjas before the rest of Amegakure joined in the cry.

"Then all I ask of you is to go on under the ruse that Hanzo lives and act as though our pacts with the other villages stand, while using this opportunity to gather what we need to make true allies and strike against our unsuspecting enemies. I will ask no more from you than I would have from myself or Konan, nor will I demand that any of you dishonor yourselves for the sake of my plans. Unlike Hanzo, who lost his way and lost sight of his obligations to you, the people he was sworn to protect and serve; I know well enough of my immediate obligations." Pain declared.

The cries of approval became much more unified and louder.

"Then let this day be known in records of history as the end of the winter Hanzo allowed to decimate Ame for so long and the winter that has decimated the elemental nations and let the spring that shall save it begin with the rising Dawn!" Pain declared, before making several hand signs before muttering something that no one else heard.

Everyone felt the pulse of chakra Pain let off. With chakra that powerful it was little wonder that this man managed to topple Hanzo the Salamander.

But everyone went breathless when the rain that the Land of Rain was known for began to slow and eventually stopped altogether.

Then the clouds parted and showed the morning sky, with the sun peeking through the cover and creating the visual of Red Clouds, just like the one that adorned the cloaks of Pain-Sama and Konan-sama.

Pain declared alongside Konan: "THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE AKATSUKI! THOSE WHO SHALL BRING ABOUT THIS NEW DAWN BY GATHERING THE NINE JINCHURIKI!"

However one particular shinobi was less than thrilled by all this and the only thought that circled in his head was one of panic:

'_They will want to hear about this._'

He was already due to send a report but something this big couldn't be written down and sent with a messenger.

He had to head to the rendezvous point, luckily he had the perfect excuse to get out of Ame and head for the border town.

Both of his primary employers would meet him there and figure out a plan before this Pain character took complete control.

And so he left Amegakure,

Fear of Pain driving him while belief that he was doing the right thing drove him to temporarily flee the village he was born in to secure a meeting with those who would see to Pain's inevitable war being stopped before it could be begun.

End Chapter 5

**So how was that for a Chapter? Sorry it took so long to finish, life happens.**

**Right when I reached the homestretch for the chapter, TFS made the full public (not just the exclusive one that had been made earlier in the month on the first) announcement that DBZA was cancelled. So that definitely got me nettled, like, super nettled. Nice DBZA reference.**

**A little tidbit, in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, I used to use Hanzo a lot when fighting against one of my friends and he absolutely HATES just how much I could trap him into Hanzo's Ultimate Jutsu. I have also got him traumatized of Hinata, who is one of my best characters alongside Hanzo, Kurama Link Naruto, and Naruto from The Last; with just because of how consistently I could get her Ultimate to land. It is so bad that just mentioning her Ultimate's name, Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists, is enough to get him groaning. So if he ever reads this, there is a chance I'm going to get yelled at, but I don't care.**

**This chapter was finished writing at 12:30 am on 2/12/2020. My plan is to get it edited and uploaded before 3:00 pm.**

**I'm going to bed talk to you in a few.**

**Editting note: I didn't have to make as many changes as I was expecting. In case anyone didn't get the reference, at one point I called the Asura Path a Walking Arsenal. This was a reference to the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie comic Series, Pre- Issue 252 reboot. Each of the E-100 series were designed to fit a specific purpose in that series. E-102 Gamma was designed to be an assassin, quickly and skillfully moving around and taking down his targets by leveraging his advantages, while E-123 Omega was designed to be a Walking Arsenal who would just mow down opposition and half his total body weight was noted to be the various types of ammunition and fuel used by his weapons. I thought the reference would be fitting.**

**Editing was finished at 2:46 PM on 2/12/2020. Upload will occur soon after.**

**I have plans to get at least one more chapter out before the end of the month. This one will have to be written completely original from the rest of what I had already written as well.**

**Well that is all I have for now.**

**Until next time: SEE YA LATER! **


	6. Crying Clouds, Warnings of a Dawning Day

Seals of Fate

**Well now I'm back again. This is going to be a chapter where the perspective is going to swap many times. **

**I would like to talk about something that going through my PM archive as well as reviews has brought to my attention, but I forgot to address in a note: Yes it is intentional that Tobi has not been identified. He will be showing up soon and some hints toward his nature will be dropped.**

_**Note: 2/26/20 2:15 pm: after finishing initial typing but before last check for upload.**_** Holy crap, I wasn't expecting to make this chapter this long but here we are. There will be more work to do on this but I have things to do today so I have to go. I will get back and go over the chapter one final time before uploading it. **

**To anyone who is reading this part of my notes: I would like to share a story. You see, last month, I began following **_**Sly 5: Thieves and Robbers**_**, by EikaPrime. However, before I began following her, she had a problem with a fellow writer who was harassing her to let him use her characters in his own work despite having never read the fic through an alternate account of his. She blocked him and he began to use his other alternate accounts to harass her which she blocked, even up to his actual publishing account: s82161. However, on February 12th, 2020, this author decided to PM an insult to one of the reviewers on EikaPrime's fan fic who had left a review on the chapter of that day, one GBAboy313. He PMed me and proceeded to insult her with an insult that I will not use in polite company, nor should anyone else as far as I am concerned. I did the mature thing and informed EikaPrime of it, and she thanked me for it. When the final chapter, the epilogue of her fic, was posted, she informed her audience of s82161's action and encouraged others to avoid acting like this author did. However on February 25, 2020, which should be the day before this chapter was posted, I received a PM from EikaPrime informing that she had received PMs from others that had been contacted by s82161 and are dealing with this Juvenile's harassment. To all of you who have read this, be polite and settle your differences with maturity. **

_**Real Quick: 2/18/ 2020**_**: I mentioned to my friend who I was talking about concerning his hatred of my Hanzo use in Storm 4, that I mentioned it and his hatred for my use of Hinata against him in the end notes for the previous chapter, and he busted out laughing before expressing Approval. GBAboy313 wins by talking, I guess.**

**For some reason, writing about Naruto while playing Fire Emblem has given me the desire to see a Naruto Tactical RPG based on Fire Emblem. With the actual Support system and stuff. I wouldn't demand that it stick to the canon, all I would ask is that canon pairings are preserved. Hell, I would actually have the game start at the beginning of Part 1 and work forward. I would ask that the pair up system from Awakening be used while using a modified version of the combat arts system from Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. In my head, I would have the characters progress naturally like they would in the actual series over time if you didn't make use of them but give opportunities for each character to advance in ways they never could. Hell I would actually have a decision system that could cause certain events to diverge from canon. Maybe even have the story go up through the events of the Last, and into complete AU.**

**Oh well enough of my pining for a game that shall never be officially made, but if any of you are amateur fan game designers, here's an idea and I'm willing to bet that it would be the project of a life time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. One can only dream about such an honor.**

Chapter 6

Crying Clouds and the Warnings of a Dawning New Day

_The Land of Lightning_

_Kumogakure_

_The Day of Pain's speech to Amegakure_

To the civilians who lived in this Great Village as well as the rest of the country, everything seemed to be alright.

However the top members of the village's leadership were scrambling to figure out the reason behind Yugito's disappearance.

Some were scarred that she might have defected, though they were quickly silenced by both the ruling Raikage, A, and his little brother Killer B.

Both knew her well enough to know that she loved the village and that she would commit seppuku before she would betray it.

Other theories floated around but none were likely.

The Storm release bearers were starting to get concerned about one of their own, Marui, who had disappeared at about the same time.

However everyone was starting to notice Shumo Hideki becoming scarcer these days.

It was late at night when the members of the Raikage's residence were disturbed by a village guard running in.

"Raikage-sama!"

'_There goes the chance to sleep till the morning.'_ The Fourth Raikage grumbled before getting up to see what it could possibly be.

"What is it?" the large man asked his much smaller subordinate.

"Sir, Marui has returned and he has a message for you." The man said, with Killer B walking in to hear just that.

"Yo, Bro. you think he might know where is Yugito?" Killer B said. He had started picking up the habit of rapping his every sentence back in his childhood, but Yugito's disappearance had started to wear on him, causing him to only say a few rhymes in his sentences every now and then.

"I don't know B, but if he does, I wanted to know 3 month ago when it happened. Have him brought to my office!" A responded.

"Yessir!"

A few minutes later, the Raikage, B, and Marui were gathered in A's office with a few other key members of Kumo's command structure, including Shumo Hideki.

Marui told them what he did know, which wasn't much as his mind had been wiped by a Yamanaka. He was told as much by the guy who dumped him not too far away from the village entrance.

"He said that I was allowed to live as a warning, that Konoha would not tolerate another incident like what had happened. But he gave me a letter and told me to only open it with you in the room." Marui said as he handed the letter to the Raikage.

A sensor in the room checked the letter for any traps such as explosives, but found no evidence of any and handed the letter to the Raikage to be opened.

The large man opened it to find a sealing array that immediately activated.

Everyone jumped to attention, prepared for the worst.

But they failed to prepare for what they did see.

A pile of four corpses. Each with a different cause of death

J, a decorated member of Kumo's ANBU, pulled apart into 6 separate pieces.

Z, another member of Kumo's ANBU, a chunk of meat missing at the chest where his heart and lungs should be.

Seto, a deep black ops agent with a near spotless record, a stab wound from a sword through his heart.

However the worst one was the final one, the missing Ni'I Yugito with her once fair skin now dried and shriveled, with her cause of death revealed by her open shirt, the seal that contained the Nibi within her was ruined.

The Nibi had been extracted.

The collective room went silent after noticing the paper that was attached to Yugito.

A grabbed and read it, and then his anger EXPLODED, with his Lightning Armor snapping on and the man dashing for Shumo Hideki who stood in the edge of the room.

He grasped him by his neck and screeched at him. "YOU WRINKLED BASTARD! I ORDERED YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THE UZUMAKI CHILD! I TOLD YOU THAT WE COULD BIDE OUR TIME AND MAYBE GRAB HIM WHEN WE TRIED TO OBTAIN A HYUGA AS WELL! BUT BECAUSE OF YOUR DESIRE TO AVENGE YOUR SON AND YOUR FAMILY HONOR, YOU HAVE COST US ANY CHANCE OF INFILTRATING KONOHA! NOT ONLY THAT, YOU COERCED YUGITO INTO GOING AND NOW NIBI IS SEALED INTO A NEW JINCHURIKI, THAT IS NOT UNDER OUR COMMAND!

YOU JUST HANDED HER OVER TO KONOHA!

NIBI IS NOW IN ENEMY HANDS AS THEIR ASSET AND IF THE CAT DECIDES TO TELL THEM ANYTHING SHE WAS AWARE OF, WE'RE FUCKED AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL SHE KNEW! AND WE CANNOT FORCE THEM TO HAND THE CAT BACK OVER CAUSE OF THIS!

**WE'RE FUCKED AND IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY?!"**

The whole room went silent at the information the Raikage just screamed.

Shumo responded: "Everything I did was for the good of Kumo. This was a regrettable outcome and I apologize, but I will fix it."

With that statement the Raikage's temper was seemingly sated, the Lightning Armor had dispelled but A's grip on the man's throat had not been removed.

But Killer B saw the look in his elder brother eyes at that statement, he may have seemed outwardly calmed but on the inside he was anything but.

A responded: "Apology accepted and I know just how you going to fix this: With your immediate execution."

The elder's eyes went wide with surprise before the Raikage put every last bit of strength he had into his grip.

The sickening crunch that followed ended the deceptive elder's life,

But it would not bring back those whose lives had been extinguished in the pursuit of his vendetta.

However despair had begun to brew within the Hachibi Jinchuriki's mind over the loss of a friend.

His partner: the mighty Hachibi, the Eight-Tailed Ox, sensed B's growing sadness and despair and tried to comfort him.

However the Biju was shocked by his host's pre-emptive response.

'_I know what you're probably getting ready to say, but please don't say it right now Gyuki, I just need time.'_

What shocked Gyuki the absolute most was B's use of the Hachibi's name. He almost never used it due to his insistence on constantly rapping his sentences, whether it was spoken out loud or in thought to Gyuki, due to lacking rhyming potential for lyrics.

If anything it sounded like B had quite a bit of the enthusiasm that he put into everything he did had been drained out.

As everyone in the office began contemplating the now bleak immediate future, A pulled everyone back to reality from wallowing in despair with a single sentence.

"Everyone, except B, get out. This is to be mentioned to no one outside of this office. We'll discuss this further tomorrow." The Raikage declared.

Everyone obeyed and did as they were told. B could only wonder what his brother wanted to talk about.

A let out an irritated sigh before he spoke. "I wonder if this is what father felt when one of his subordinates went against orders and attempted to kidnap a bloodline bearer or target of interest ahead of schedule, I know it happened a few times due to the reports from his tenure, because this is probably one of the most infuriating things that has happened since I took this damn hat."

B had put his sorrow aside for a moment and asked a question that A's rant had given him. "You were planning on kidnapping the Uzumaki boy and some Hyuga kid? How were you planning on getting someone in to do the job?"

A responded "I had a plan to make a grab for the kids in a few years, get Konoha to come to the table for negotiations, get the final agreements taken care of within Konoha itself. That Third Hokage would grasp at any chance for a true peace between our villages."

B inquired "I'm guessing that the plan has been made completely unusable."

A nodded: "Yes it has been ruined completely. This has destroyed any bit of credibility we could have used to start those negotiations. Though Hiruzen doing this and having the Nibi extracted is a bit of a surprise. I get the feeling he did it so if it ever came to light to the Konoha public that one of our black ops team made a near successful incursion, he could say he did respond and punish us after everything Kumo has done against Konoha."

B nodded and then asked: "Where do we go from here?"

A looked at his brother and contemplated what to do before responding: "We keep this mostly under wraps, cover up the fact that we lost Nibi. We start improving the quality of our shinobi. Which means me and you will be intensifying our training, we need to be at our absolute best."

The Hachibi Jinchuriki nodded.

A got up from his chair and stated: "Come on B, let's go home and try to get some sleep before its time to get started."

And so the two brothers left, shaken by the loss of a comrade but determined to stay strong. For the sake Kumo.

Xxx

_Mt. Myoboku_

_Gamamaru the Seer Toad's chamber _

_The day after Pain's announcement_

Young Gamabunta had come to visit his grandfather again.

At least that was what the old toad remembered.

Perhaps he had come for business and then decided to talk with dear old grandad.

Apparently the old toad had fallen asleep.

His head was all sorts of groggy, but he recognized the blackness that stood before him in his mind's eye.

It was the blackness that accompanied his premonitions ever since he had achieved his heightened state of enlightenment, where the universe began to reveal secrets and the future to him, all those years ago.

After dear Hagoromo-chan and Hamura-chan had managed to defeat their mother and sealed the chakra of the Jyubi, the monstrosity that Kaguya had unleashed in her madness, away within Hagoromo-chan.

The problem with his premonitions was that they would start to invade his dreams, and at first he wouldn't be able to recall any detail but his thoughts following the visions would gravitate towards things that would relate to want he saw and memories that shared relevance to the details within the dream.

Perhaps those two and their mother had something to do with what he saw.

It was possible.

The old toad was called back to the land of the waking by the cries of his grandson.

"Grandfather!" Gamabunta cried.

The Seer Toad shook to consciousness with great alarm, before calming down after regaining his bearings.

"I'm sorry Bunta-chan, but you are going to have to remind me why you were here." The old Toad said.

"Not a problem Grandfather, I figured you were having another premonition." The Toad Boss responded before continuing

"I was here to visit but Kosuke came to inform me of the second half to a clan wide discussion that Me, Ma, and Pa had started a while back to discuss your suggestion of adding multiple new summoners to the Toad Clan Contract, once those little ones from the prophecy you gave a few months ago to Jiraiya are old enough to begin learning how to summon us, with the rest of the clan." Gamabunta explained.

"I see. I remember when we first tried to have the conversation it was chaos before we decided to let everyone cool off. According to Kosuke, how did it go this time?" Gamamaru asked.

"Apparently the clan was split down the middle in regards to the issue. Everyone agreed that Minato's son, Naruto, should be added to the contract the moment he is old to begin training on how to summon. But in regards to the other two was where everyone was split. Half were for it and half were against it. Pa was able to negotiate out a compromise on a middle ground that everyone could at least live with: we will only add two new summoners to the contract: Naruto and one other." Gamabunta summarized Kosuke's rather lengthy explanation that had been given while Gamamaru was asleep.

"I see. That is preferable to nothing at all being agreed on." The old toad said.

"I agree completely. But the question is which one?" Gamabunta responded.

"Given that we at least know that the Hyuga in question is this Hinata-chan and that she is a Jinchuriki, I would say that we better go with her." Gamamaru said to his grandson.

"That sounds reasonable, and if she was kidnapped by those who sought to free Jyubi, and the enemy had a means of blocking Konoha's primary means of retrieving her, that Kamui marker built into her seal is what Jiraiya said it was, should a situation occur we could retrieve her using the Reverse Summoning Jutsu." Gamabunta stated as a thought showing his preference for the idea.

"That was part of my idea. Go tell the others." The seer toad said.

"As you wish Grandfather, until next time." Gamabunta said before gently hopping away.

Gamamaru was now left alone to his thoughts and one thing was bothering him in his mind.

One question that would not leave him alone, but ultimately started reminding him of his dream vision.

'_Why are thoughts about Kaguya's eyes, Hagoromo's eyes, and Hamura's eyes refusing to leave my head? And now thoughts of Indra's descendants and their Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?' _

Then a black void filled the seer toad's head, the premonition had begun again. Hopefully this time when he woke he would recall some of the details.

Within the initial void, three sets of eyes opened.

One was a cerulean blue set of eyes, one was a pale white set of eyes, and the last was a black set of eyes.

Then the blue eyes turned red with a slit. The pale set thinned into a slit before being surrounded by a red circle on one side and a yellow circle on the other. While the black eyes turned red with 3 black tomoes, the sharingan. A boiling red aura surrounded the first two.

Then the eyes changed again. The first two briefly became completely white and hollow and surrounded by dark red aura, before they changed again. The tomoes within the sharingan of the third set of eyes began to spin until they merged to form a new symbol, the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The eyes that had originally been blue returned to such before they turned orange with rectangular shaped pupils and gained a red colored shading around the eye that was so dark it looked orange. A telltale sign of the Sage Mode when used by human that had been taught how to use it in the environment of Mt. Myoboku.

The pale white eyes returned to their original state before they shrunk and became rectangle shaped pupils surrounded by a lavender circle and a lavender shading around the eyes. Another practitioner of Toad Style Sage Mode apparently.

The Mangekyo reverted back to a Standard sharingan however the tomoes straightened out while the eyes and space around them developed strange alterations. It resembled a Sage Mode but the Seer Toad could not think of which Summon Clan would have one that created those changes. But he knew it looked familiar.

Then eyes once again began changing.

The slits reformed in the first two set of eyes, but the eye color for the first set turned orange rather than red, while the red and yellow colors for the second formed the slits this time while the pale coloring remained for the eye color. The Sharingan returned to the Mangekyo form before it began to swirl until a new symbol had appeared and merged with the old symbol, an Eternal Mangekyo.

The eyes changed one final time: the orange eyes turned yellow and the slit turned into a cross shaped symbol, the second set of eyes turned into a rotating floral pattern on a blue eye, and the third set of eyes had one of the eyes turn into a purple color with concentric circles, a Rinnegan, but then tomoes developed on certain circles: an altered version of the eye of the Jyubi, the Rinne Sharingan.

'_What does it mean?_

_Perhaps time and more details of the prophecy becoming visible and retainable would reveal the overall meaning?'_

Xxx

_Kupo, a town located 2 days away from Amegakure_

_2 days after Pain's announcement._

Jiraiya the Toad Sage was probably one of the most well-known spymasters in the Elemental nations.

Few wouldn't recognize him due to his fame as a Sannin, few wouldn't fall over themselves to meet the author behind the latest phenomenon in the world of adult literature: Icha Icha Paradise, and even fewer wouldn't actually notice his presence unless he truly wished to be noticed.

However to be everywhere and anywhere was a problem that had faced spymasters since the dawn of using such information and espionage tactics to wage war and flush out threats.

The solution that the pioneers of the art of espionage came up with was to build their own networks of trusted subordinates and informants who could gather the information, and Jiraiya had certainly done that.

Some would form it by planting moles to gather information by various means, some would find those who felt a lack of loyalty to their country in comparison to much needed money, and some would sell out anything to gain favor with another, stronger nation.

Jiraiya had built his network on all the above and made damn sure that they would never rat him out. The second kind was hard to buy off from under you when you could pay for their loyalty both with funds given to pay for information and your own personal surplus of funds that you made from a successful life as a Shinobi and from newly built success as an author, after the dud that your first book turned out to be and then the smash hit your second one was.

However Jiraiya had built his network by also using a fourth kind, those who were so loyal to their nation that they would sell information to a trusted friend to see that any threat looming within would be torn out to prevent their total destruction.

What these kind of informants do is completely different from what Danzo had done. They did it for no chance of gaining an advantage over other countries. They did it because they understood the fundamental truth to the world that it was impossible to survive on your own, and did what they did in hopes of one day peace could be achieved. Without the domination of everyone else.

It took guts to take a stand for what believe in when it seems you are all alone.

It took more guts to betray your village for a cause you believe in.

And it took a hell of a lot of guts to betray your village out of true, genuine loyalty.

Danzo just betrayed the village because he thought he and he alone was the village and what was good for him was good for the village.

'_I hope he is suffering in that jail cell of his.'_ Jiraiya thought bitterly.

However, the great spy networks were often led by those who knew how to coordinate with the leaders of others. To make friends and to ensure that those friendships were strong enough to ensure they were never betrayed.

Which was why he was sitting down talking to the man in front of him: Kageyami Hisashi. A man who held the loyalty of at least a man within every hidden village, national capital, criminal organization, and population center of interest.

Appearance wise: Hisashi was nothing special, but his most striking features was his hair and eye color, his hair color was so dark it might be mistaken for black but a close look showed it to be an incredibly dark shade of purple. His eyes were far more unmistakable, they were also colored purple, but unlike his hair, it was unmistakable for any other color. Though that last one was easily concealed by the man's use of goggles and shades, depending on time and conditions.

The major elephant in the room about the man was this: he was not from the Elemental Nations, which led to the second which was that he possessed no chakra, though he did possess power of his own, deadly pragmatism, and knowledge of ways to damage the human body, as well as an extremely fast reaction rate, that made him dangerous to fight.

The man projected a near constant façade of immaturity and bumbling clumsiness, particularly around any downwards flight of stairs, and the façade was further strengthen by the man's love for strong drinks that would make straight up acid look like clean river water.

Jiraiya was still smelling that horrible scent of the booze the enigmatic spymaster carried from the one time he decided to take a sniff of the beverage the man carried around in a traveler's flask of liquid courage.

But get him onto a topic that hits home and the immaturity faded away and gave way to a particularly deep and odd mixture of both the idealism of a visionary with the belief that peace could be achieved and the cynicism that gave the distinct impression that he had seen quite a bit of true horror and had known far too much of war.

That made his alcoholism make so much sense in hindsight.

During these conversations, the amount of depth that would be included gave much to doubt his apparent age, he appeared to be just about 25-30 years old and claimed to be far older, with his mentioning of his children being almost full grown.

But do or say the wrong things in his presence and his temper would explode, and the man's humanity would disappear into the Aether.

The image of what he did to human traffickers and anyone who did anything untoward involving children the one time they had stumbled upon a group whilst traveling together a year ago would haunt Jiraiya's nightmares for the rest of his days.

To be given what they were was to be given a fate far worse than death, to be left in incredible suffering for the rest of your days, with no means of ending it yourself, and any ability to beg others for death completely removed.

Moving on from the occasional nightmare that was haunting Jiraiya ever since he witnessed it.

The man told some pretty wild and entertaining stories. To the point that Jiraiya asked him if he could compile them into an anthology.

Hisashi agreed under the caveat that Jiraiya only write what he remembered and then the man would go over it to check for accuracy.

Relatively tame, considering that the Toad Sage was expecting him to demand royalties.

The man could find Jiraiya wherever he went, refusing to say how, but was more than happy to share his information with the Toad Sannin.

Wherever he came from, he often had to return to at a moment's notice, but he would always return from soon after.

But right now they were waiting for Hisashi's man from Amegakure to show up, he was due to give a report to Kosuke 2 days ago but the toad had managed to catch him as he was leaving the patrol perimeter surrounding the fortress Hidden Village.

Kosuke and the other toads was not the usual method for gathering the reports from Hisashi's network, but strange whispers from within the Land Of Rain, tell of something big getting ready to happen, and had changed things

But when Kosuke reported his observations of the man's behavior during their brief meeting and the information that the toad had been given told both spymasters that something had happened and it had caused Fugo, the man working for Hisashi's network in Amegakure and the sole contact either one had there, to leave the town in a hurry and head to the rendezvous point located here.

Hanzo had made it tough to recruit spies from his ranks, but Hisashi had managed to smooth talk a mid-rank member of Ame's command who had misgivings about Hanzo's leadership to start snitching.

But he was dragged from his thoughts back to reality by the story that he was only half paying attention to being told by the enigma, something about one of the fights he had previously been in.

"He had me on the fucking ground, dead to any form of fucking rights! I did not have a damn means of actually killing him unless he used one specific thing in his arsenal that if destroyed would kill him from the fucking shock! And guess what he fucking did?!" the man asked, he spoke in a way that reminded Jiraiya that he had spoken to sailors with cleaner mouths than him whenever he was projecting his façade.

At least while he wasn't too angry, if his temper was pushed hard enough he would say the curses with such gravitas that would usually only be reserved for the heroes of old stories and myths issuing a speech to challenge impossible odds or challenging the villains and eviscerating their entire motivation and goal.

"I'm going to take a guess and say that he threw that one thing at you? I'm basing that on the fact that you are sitting here and that you do not appear to be undead in any way." Jiraiya responded.

Hisashi let loose his wide grin and chuckled before he responded, "Yep! That was exactly what happened! The dumb Fucking bastard threw it at me and I countered by destroying it and the sympathetic damage from its destruction killed him! Fucking dumbass!" the man said and Jiraiya found himself extremely thankful that Hisashi hadn't busted out laughing, when he did a full belly laughter he would let off a cacophonic sound that would give anyone chills and cover their ears to protect them from the hyenic sound.

"I'm guessing that encounters with similar guys went a lot better because you learned from the encounter?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Oh hell yes they did. I learned the general tactics that they used and developed counter measures to use against the bastards and added a weapon and a technique or two to my bag of tricks that would actually kill those dumb fuckers the next time I saw one of them." The man said, finishing his drink, before his eyes went wide and Jiraiya saw the visual indicator of the man swapping from his childish façade to his business mode.

"Look towards the entrance to the tavern in such a way that doesn't look suspicious. The man coming in wearing the Ame uniform with a black armband on his right forearm. Do you see him?" the enigmatic spymaster asked.

Jiraiya looked as he was asked to and saw the man. He possessed a build and a face that were unremarkable for any ninja. The perfect spy, beneath notice.

"Yeah I see him. Is that Fugo?" Jiraiya asked after seeing the man Hisashi directed his attention to.

"No it's not him, it's a solid state fog clone of him that was due to be sent here to inform us that he has arrived and is waiting for us somewhere. He's following the procedure that I set for this kind of situation to the letter." Hisashi responded.

"How can you tell it's a fog clone?" Jiraiya asked, trying to figure out the enigma with him.

"Most Clones don't possess a certain mental capacity needed to be recognized by my primary means of detection, and I can see a slight fog coming off of him from the clone's structural decay due to being outside a climate or weather condition that would help to preserve its structural integrity. Not being able to detect clones by this method of mine is not very bad in combat since I hardly ever rely on a sensory method to fight, but it is worth noting. But enough of that for now, get up slowly in way to suggest that we were already in the middle of leaving. Then head close enough to hear him make an order, he'll tell the barkeep a number or mention something during his order and that will be an indicator of where we need to go." The man responded, which left Jiraiya wondering what most clones lacked mentally that made them easy for him to spot with whatever sensory means he used.

They got close enough to hear the conversation between the clone and the barkeep.

The barkeep was speaking at the moment: "So stranger where you headed?"

The clone responded: "Just staying in town a day or two before moving on." Jiraiya's thoughts moved with hearing the clone speak: _'Either this Fugo is highly skilled with fog clones to the point of replicating the traits of other solid state clones, even up to Shadow Clones, or he made an advancement of Ame's Fog Clone that replicates a similar effect. Looking at him from this close I can just barely see the fog Hisashi mentioned coming from the clone's structural decay. But even though it's this advanced what does it lack that Hisashi cannot sense? And how was he able to see the fog if I wasn't able to until we got this close?'_

The barkeep shrugged at the answer before asking a new question: "So what can I get you to drink?"

The clone responded: "I passed a sake distillery on the way in, right next to the inn I decided to get a room at. Got any good sake from it?"

The barkeep thought for a moment before pulling out a bottle of sake: "You're talking about the Kupo Sake, it's a popular brand around this area but nowhere else cares for it."

It was at that moment that Hisashi cut in: "Hey, I'm here to pay for me and my friend's tab. But I'm feeling awfully generous today and this stranger has got some good taste, the Kupo Sake brand is deeply under appreciated. To meet someone who appreciate its value like me is a welcomed experience, one I will gladly pay for. Will this be enough?" Hisashi smoothly said to the barman while handing a handful of Ryo. To which the barman nodded.

Hisashi grabbed the bottle and turned to the clone and said: "Come on let's go back to the inn, my friend and I have reservations there as well." To which the clone nodded.

As they left the tavern and got onto the streets the clone dispelled itself into the fog it was made of once there was no one else around but the Toad Sage and the enigmatic spymaster.

Hisashi took the lead and guided Jiraiya to the inn the clone had referred to. While they were walking Jiraiya decided to test his luck on getting an answer: "Hey Hisashi, how on earth did you see the fog coming off the clone even if you were that far away?"

The man laughed before answering: "I cheated, I have a method of seeing and listening far closer than I may be positioned physically."

Jiraiya was outwardly calm but was perplexed on the inside: _'The hell is talking about? Is he being serious or trying to mislead me? Or is he telling the truth and it is too outrageous that it sounds like a lie?'_

By the time Jiraiya was done with that thought, they were walking into the inn room, where a man who was identical to the clone sat within, with hands shaking like mad.

"Good, you're both here. I was worried that the two of you were late." The man, most likely Fugo, said upon opening his eyes.

Hisashi walked towards the man and handed him the bottle of sake: "Got your message from the clone. Here is your sake. Now do you actually like this brand or did you only order it to direct us to this inn?"

Fugo nodded: "It had always been a favorite so I used it to direct you here and get me the drink that I desperately needed after what happened in Ame."

Hisashi nodded while Jiraiya asked the question: "What happened in Ame that has got you so spooked? I don't even know you but I can tell you're scared of something."

Fugo nodded before responding: "I figured, the drink will wait till after I have finished my report and answering any questions you may have if I can. To start: Hanzo is no longer in control of Amegakure."

Jiraiya's eyes went wide: "Hanzo lost control! How? The people have always feared his power too much to actually rally behind deposing him!"

Fugo nodded: "Yes but I'm afraid that is not what happened. Hanzo lost control of Amegakure because he was killed in combat. He very much cannot rule it from the grave."

Jiraiya was at a loss for words before he found what to say: "How? Who killed him?"

Fugo answered: "Apparently he was challenged to open combat, and it was by his successor who is called Pain who was assisted by his right hand, a woman named Konan."

Hisashi nodded while Jiraiya was at a loss for words, could it be that the woman at Pain's side was the same Konan he had trained along with Nagato and Yahiko. If so then, Konan was alive! But why was she allied with this Pain? He had heard that Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato had all confronted Hanzo, but things went sour and Yahiko and Nagato had disappeared along with Konan, presumed to be dead, and the militia they had gathered was scattered. Any who had remained had been unified under its 4th in command, a man who was named Shigure. If Konan was truly still alive then maybe Nagato and Yahiko were as well.

Hisashi spoke: "Anything distinctive about either of them?"

Fugo nodded: "Konan possesses what appears to be an origami constructed rose in her hair, has blue hair, and amber colored eyes. The one time I heard her speaking before I left, she spoke with little emotion in her voice, and was kept at a near monotone. She sounded like someone who was so tired that all enthusiasm she could have had was gone.

Pain possesses short yet spiky orange hair and his face is covered in piercings. Presumably they serve some sort of purpose because I have never seen a person with piercings that looked anything like what he had, with as many of them or in some of the places they were in, nor have I seen anything made from a material like what his piercings were. I assume he had more piercings hidden underneath his clothes. His skin is pale but in a way that kind of reminds me of either a decaying corpse or one that was preserved.

Both wore a long black cloak, with a red cloud pattern on it." Finishing his explanation but with that his hands began shaking even worse.

Jiraiya nodded, but then he moved to the question that should be answered by Hanzo's death but something told him that it wasn't, especially with Fugo's nonstop, and now intensified, shaking in his hands: "These two sound like nightmares if they were able to kill Hanzo, but for some reason I'm guessing that isn't what has you so spooked that your hands won't stop shaking so what is it?"

Hisashi looked before he nodded: "Yeah he's right Fugo, I noticed the constant shaking you were having when I walked in, but now that I really think about it, it never really stopped. So answer Jiraiya's question."

Fugo nodded before saying a sentence that would shake Jiraiya to his core: "Pain's eyes were a dojutsu with a design that anyone who knows old legends about the origins of chakra know: purple with concentric ripples. There is no mistaking it: Pain had the Rinnegan."

Jiraiya felt his heart sink with that, everything after that was a dull haze but he remembered every word said during it, including the parts about Pain stopping the raining over Amegakure and parting the clouds over the heavily fortified village to show the sun rising at dawn, as well as his intention to build an organization called Akatsuki to bring peace to the world by force by gathering the Nine Jinchuriki. At one point Hisashi began writing on something, but he had finished by the time Fugo had ended his report. Hisashi and Jiraiya both bid Fugo farewell before leaving the room.

As he and Hisashi left the room, Hisashi pulled the Toad Sage aside.

Hisashi spoke: "Look Jiraiya, I'm not going to lie: I know about those orphans from Ame that you trained: Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. I also know about Nagato's dojutsu, which is, or was, the Rinnegan. I know your thought right now would be to break into Amegakure and find out from Pain and his right hand about who they are and where they got Pain's Rinnegan,"

Jiraiya looked at the man and wondered how on earth he knew about that but realized he wasn't done talking and decided to wait before speaking.

"But I have been aware of Pain's existence for about two years as a whisper in Ame's underworld. He has earned quite a reputation for destroying anyone who refused to get out his way, often in some pretty brutal ways. I didn't say anything before now because I couldn't definitively prove he truly existed or that if it was a group pretending to be a single person. But this proves that there is some merit to what I have heard. If you go running in looking for answers, he WILL kill you. Your mind and judgement will be clouded by all the emotions associated with those kids."

Jiraiya sighed, knowing the man was right: "So what are we going to do?"

Hisashi put a hand to his chin: "I have to report this to my superiors, along with anything else I can link as possible signs or definitively prove as part of the building of this 'Akatsuki' that Pain claimed he was creating. If I can convince them that it is enough of a threat, I might be able to step in with some aid beyond what I'm already allowed to do which is actually part of the basis for our partnership.

I suggest you go to Konoha and report Hanzo's death as well as Pain's rise to power and overall aspirations. I suggest you leave out the part about Pain possessing the Rinnegan, to everyone except Hiruzen and make sure to advise him to keep it quiet, at least for now while he is mostly harmless and keeping to himself while he is building his organization and strengthening his regime.

I could imagine someone ordering Pain's assassination to avoid war due to word got out about him holding the Rinnegan and somehow either botch it and cause Pain retaliating or they succeed and make a martyr out of him, but they got sloppy and left evidence to implicate them or planted evidence to frame someone else and then you would have another War." The man concluded.

Jiraiya nodded, understanding the need for secrecy. If this got out to the wrong people then another Great Ninja War would be started too soon after the 3rd Great Ninja War had been ended.

Jiraiya spoke, "I'm guessing this is goodbye?"

Hisashi nodded: "It is indeed. At least for now, my friend. I'll be back in at least a few months, so farewell for now. And take this and give it to the Hokage, when you tell him what you've learned concerning Ame." The enigma concluded by handing the Toad Sage a letter bearing the kanjis for "Shadow", "Darkness", and "Past" on the seal. The kanjis that the man used for his name whenever he wrote it using that lettering, which Jiraiya had become familiar with ever since their partnership had begun 2 years ago. The Toad Sage pocketed the letter, before sharing a few more words with the enigma.

Soon time came for them to part ways.

A brief handshake and the two men went their separate ways, Jiraiya towards the Land of Fire and Konoha and Hisashi towards parts unknown to his homeland.

But one thought crowded the Toad Sage's mind: _'Konan, are you really the woman at Pain's side? And Pain, are you Yahiko or Nagato? If you are, what happened to the other? Just what happened to make you go down this path? And if you are not either one of them, how did you get that Rinnegan?_

_I will get those answers. One day.'_

Jiraiya looked ahead and saw a massive length of road ahead of him, both actually and metaphorically.

Just how long would it take to reach what lies at the end?

Xxx

_Konoha_

_3 days after Pain's announcement._

To Obito, the last few days had a strange start to them

To start things off, Kakashi and Rin-chan both complimented a meal that HE made. That was something he had never gotten before.

Then Rin started throwing herself into a new type of training for bettering her ability to wield the Sanbi's chakra.

Then Kakashi left for yet another high ranked mission, said he couldn't talk about it and needed to leave as soon as possible. But he did say that if he was able to successfully accomplish the mission objective it would be one of the best things they could get for themselves financially.

Stupid restrictions on them being able to tap Sensei's funds after he died, it wasn't like Iwa was going to find out about Naruto and his connection to Sensei just from tracing the resources back to them.

Obito didn't dare say it aloud for fear of tempting fate.

Not after what had happened the two last time he tempted fate, almost 3 years ago and then just 5 months ago.

He didn't want to see what the third time would bring.

Which led him to where he was now: the Uchiha Clan Compound.

The why to that was rather simple, Mikoto had something to do and usually she would leave Itachi with Sasuke, but some of Itachi's recent behavior had herself a little concerned.

Though considering just what he had heard about Itachi from a year ago, left him with little reason to doubt Mikoto's concerns.

So she asked Obito to watch both of her sons for an afternoon. Obito accepted as he had nothing better to do.

He had heard that Itachi was supposed to be the greatest prodigy that the Uchiha had ever produced, the kind that had not been seen since the days of Madara and Izuna, which Obito could definitely tell there was some merit to just by observing the kid.

He could absorb information and figure out an application easily enough.

Though Itachi's care for his younger brother was phenomenal. A lot of the care that Obito observed was done with skill that he had only seen from few.

It seemed that Itachi was determined to be the best big brother to Sasuke as he could.

The kid was a bit on the side of taciturn with conversations, though considering that Obito was a virtual stranger to him but one that his mother trusted, the attitude seemed completely understandable.

Though every time Obito tried to get the kid to open up, he was just brushed off. But Obito could tell it was more of a lack of interest in the subjects he was trying to approach Itachi with rather than genuine desire to not talk. And he was being polite in his dissuasions.

The kid at one point got out a fairly well kept book and started reading.

But then the kid finally spoke without prompting: "How come I have never met you even though you're an Uchiha?"

Obito thought about how much to tell the kid before he finally decided to answer the kid.

"Well, you see, a few years ago something happened on a mission and what happened left my tolerance for unfair crap far lower than my usual. I decided to cut out a bunch a stuff that I decided weren't worth the effort, like the clan that most of the members of which, with a few exceptions, treated me like garbage for not being able to get my sharingan until I was almost thirteen years old.

To make matters worse, that was also at about the time some very loud voices within our clan were going off about views that went directly against what I believed in.

Your mother told me about that elder, Izayoi, who was executed the other day, he was one of the loudest voices at the time for the Uchiha 'trying to arise to their rightful position at the top.' I knew that what that meant, a bloody coup that would subjugate anyone who did not bear the clan name Uchiha, and I had a feeling it would be a matter of time before a Main House/ Branch House system like the one the Hyuga have would be established to further establish some's further superiority." Obito said.

Itachi thought for a moment before nodding in understanding, before questioning one thing about Obito's explanation.

"But I always heard that the system the Hyuga clan have is to protect the Byakugan. Have you ever heard otherwise?" Itachi asked.

Obito grimaced slightly before answering the question, "Kid, I have heard that explanation for the Main House and Branch House System along with the Cage Bird Cursed Seal for years. If it was truly meant to protect the Byakugan then there wouldn't be a need for a divide between the two that is so steep they might as well be two separate clans. There wouldn't be a need to place restrictions on certain advanced Gentle Fist techniques to forbid them from being taught to Branch House Members, such as the 64 Palms and the Hyuga's so called 'secret move,' the Kaiten."

Itachi understood what he was being told before he asked another question, "I have never heard of the Caged Bird Seal referred to as a Cursed Seal before."

Obito smiled, seeing that his hint was being noticed, "That's because most people in Konoha are so used to it that they have either forgotten or chosen to ignore that the Caged Bird is a textbook example of a Cursed Seal: designed to interfere with natural processes of the human body in pretty unnatural ways that are highly damaging to the body whenever it is activated, with a built in function to inflict pain keyed to respond only to a certain signature and activated by a hand seal. The seal is never meant to be removed or broken down naturally and that pain inflicting function can also be used to kill whoever the Cursed Seal is applied to.

Any self-righteous notion that their Caged Bird Cursed Seal is meant solely to protect the Byakugan gets thrown straight out the window when they use the same cursed seal technique, a Juinjutsu, to also keep their family from rising up against them. If it was truly meant to do what is claimed, the pain and death inflicting function wouldn't be part of the seal's matrix, and the seal would be applied to every last member of the clan. The Hyuga's Caged Bird fits every last criteria used to classify it as a Cursed Seal. There is some slight overlap between the standard Seal classification and the Cursed Seal classification but it more than fills the required amount of boxes to be counted as one.

Though I do believe that most Hyugas truly believe that what the elders of their clan preach about their Cursed Seal. I also do happen to know there has been a push by a faction within the clan to have the Cursed Seal revised.

And tying into the statement that started this, I choose to always refer to it as the Caged Bird Cursed Seal to keep myself from forgetting like others have." Obito said, finishing his lecture.

Itachi nodded and responded: "I think I understand what you are saying, if it was truly made for the reason they claim, it wouldn't be so draconian in its structuring."

Obito nodded: "Yep, more or less exactly what I'm saying."

Then it went quiet briefly.

Obito looked over, seeking to keep the boy's interest in the conversation going: "Say what is that book you're reading?"

Itachi's face grew a small smile before he began speaking: "It's called the '_Tale of Two Brothers_.' It's about two brothers who are the sons of a powerful woman who is worshiped as a goddess of peace. But she rules with an iron fist, she uses her power to bring peace at the cost of the freedom to choose, creating an artificial peace. The woman has people routinely sacrificed to fuel her army and power, and ends up sacrificing a girl who was dear to her eldest son. The two brothers are approached by a small creature who has achieved enlightenment who shows them what kind of army their mother was building and how. The creature ends up taking the two brothers under his guidance and teaches them how to use the power they inherited from their mother, as the creature possessed a similar power through his kind's connection to nature. The two brothers end up fighting their mother who accidentally transforms herself into a mindless monster trying to draw enough power to stop them until she was finished bringing about her plan. The end result is that they have to steal its soul from its body and then seal away the body. They end up splitting the creature's soul into multiple other creatures with minds of their own and that is where the story ends."

Obito was caught up on some of the details Itachi had spat out, but eventually he spoke: "That is kinda interesting sounding to me, but I can't shake the feeling I have heard it somewhere before."

Itachi simply responded: "From what I heard, it is based off some old folktale that was passed down in the Land of Ancestors. Maybe you heard another telling of it?"

Obito nodded "That may just be it. Is this your first time reading it or have you read it before?" Obito responded while thinking: _'He might not be wrong about it being based off on an old folktale, but for some reason I keep thinking about the tale about the Twin Sages that the Turtle had told Rin before she removed the lock on him, and the details we got from Jiraiya that he got from the Seer Toad. Maybe the story is the same thing just with a few differences due to adaptation or something.'_

Itachi shook his head, "No, it is not my first time reading this story, it is my third time. I found it to be really interesting."

That conversation continued on for some time before it came to an end. Obito decided to let Itachi read in peace while he let his mind run wild.

Obito's thoughts eventually settled on a headache from before Minato-sensei's death: completing the Rasengan by adding elemental affinity.

It was almost impossible to keep stable once the elemental infusion had begun, mainly due to the massive split in concentration between holding the Rasengan and trying to mold the elemental chakra as well as merging it into the Rasengan. The longest that either Kakashi, Rin-chan, or Obito himself had managed to hold the stability before it busted was about half of a minute.

Frustration at the failures to figure out how to complete their sensei's technique was high at the moment for all three students of the late Fourth Hokage.

Though some failures had been the source of comic relief, especially the feedback from one of Kakashi's failures blowing him back into a tree and knocking the young Jonin completely unconscious.

Before long Obito heard the door open and a voice say: "Obito, I'm back."

Obito left the ponderings behind and got up to greet his aunt, only to see Rin standing with her.

Obito smiled "Hey Mikoto. Hey Rin-chan."

Mikoto looked at him and spoke: "I hope Sasuke wasn't too much of a headache."

"He wasn't much of a problem, what I could take care of was easy enough and the small stuff that I didn't know, Itachi was able to walk me through. Hey Rin-chan, why are you here?" Obito responded.

Rin responded "I had to step out of the house for an errand and left the hounds with Naruto. While I was out I ran into Mikoto and she asked me to come back with her as she was coming to relieve you of duty."

Mikoto nodded and chuckled "Yes I figured you would be ready to go home and rest after dealing with Sasuke."

Obito nodded before grabbing his shoes and moving to leave the house "Well I won't say it was the best experience, it was a lot better than a mission going wrong. If you need someone to look after them and I'm on time off, I'll do it again. Itachi was interesting to talk to when I managed to get him talking."

Mikoto nodded "I figured you might say something like that. I'll keep it in mind."

And so the young couple left for home, unaware of the trouble that had begun brewing elsewhere in the Elemental Nations.

Xxx

_The Land of Rice Paddies_

_4 days after Pain's announcement_

To reach perfection, to learn every Jutsu, and to achieve true immortality and unending life.

Is there a more noble pursuit to make one's life goal?

That was Orochimaru's dream. His ambition was to make a life, most importantly his, immortal like that of a god.

At one time it was to grant it to Konoha, the village he once loved until he began to lose faith in the village itself.

Then it turned to granting it to both his teammates as well as himself: they were at one point like siblings to him. They were the only family he had ever since the untimely death of his parents. They had their squabbles, ultimately they were able to overcome their differences to be one of the strongest Shinobi teams to ever be produced by the Hidden Villages. However time is a vindictive monster that tears apart everything given a long enough time scale. And it had plenty of time to wear down the bonds of the legendary Sannin of Konohagakure.

However he hadn't truly turned his back on Konoha till it rejected him for his experiments, seeking to revive a lost Bloodline in hopes of ensuring that the Senju's greatest legacy wouldn't die out with Tsunade-chan while she wallowed in her despair. However most of the test subject were rejected by the implanted DNA from Hashirama, the only one he heard that had survived and gained Wood Release was an infant named Tenzo, no clan name however he was descended from an illegitimate Senju child. It seemed the clan's genetic traits gave Tenzo the necessary potential for the DNA implantation to properly integrate into the boy's body even if it failed to endow him with the full extent of the First Hokage's power.

However when the experiment was discovered, instead of being acknowleged for the service he had done for the village by saving one of its bloodlines from extinction, Orochimaru was branded as a criminal and forced to leave behind a lot of his research and experiments.

Life was full of ups and downs, but those who truly flourished were those who could weather it all and pull everything back together perfectly even after being completely ruined.

Most recently, Orochimaru had run into a young boy who was far from home: Kabuto, one of Danzo's ROOTs.

The boy took to any kind of new information, soaking it up like a sponge in water. A bright mind that was being used for merely a deep black ops infiltration agent. What a waste of potential.

At the moment, the group that Orochimaru had recently assembled under his leadership was currently poising to establish a hidden village within the Land of Rice Paddies.

The Rogue Sannin was currently trying to decide between killing the Daimyo and having the power of his office transferred to the Hidden Village Leader, which would make it easier to move around quietly and cut the risk for an information leak, or trying to establish a legitimate relation with the Daimyo and sparing the headache of illegitimacy to his rule that could be used as an excuse for villages like Konoha to invade.

However the more pressing concern was the large chakra that had just entered Orochimaru's sensing periphery. This chakra felt old and chimeric, like it had bits of the chakra of others merged into it.

It took a mere moment for Orochimaru to realize that the signature was familiar, and a mere half a second to realize who his pursuer was.

However that was more than enough time for the pursuer to attack: "Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"

A massive and explosive fireball came hurtling towards Orochimaru, who smoothly dodged it.

The Snake grinned at his hunter, noticing the familiar red and green colored eyes. "Well, well. Kakuzu. Any sensor who has lived to tell the tale of your battles has always mentioned what your chakra has felt like, not to mention our encounter back during the 3rd Great Ninja War. Tell me, how are the broken ribs I gave you and that shoulder that I damaged doing?" the Snake asked, out of a desire to buy time for an escape plan to be made.

Kakuzu merely chuckled behind the mask that covered most of his face and his long and messy hair that almost looked like a tattered hood, "Orochimaru of the Sannin. You've been one of the hits I've been looking to collect on ever since you left Konoha." And with a single hand seal, Kakuzu's skin turned metallic looking and he began rushing towards the rogue Snake Sannin.

Orochimaru rushed through hand seals and thrust his arms out before crying his jutsu: "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" and snakes began rushing out of his sleeves toward the chimeric ninja.

However before their attacks could meet, the encounter was disrupted by the entrance of another presence

"Well, this makes our job easier without having to track the two of you down separately." A high, soft voice said.

The two Missing Nin ceased their encounter and looked at the source and saw a strange ninja standing there, half of its body was white with a light yellow human like eye on one side and on the other half of its body was black and had a beady yellow eye that was unlike a human. Both sides had green grass like hair and the neck and head was contained behind a Venus Fly Trap like tapir.

"And thank you for stopping your fight on your own rather than forcing us to intervene." The creature said in the same voice that caught their attention but only the lips of its white side moved.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Kakuzu demanded

Orochimaru wondered what could have caused the creation of the creature that stood before him but he had to agree with Kakuzu: "I find myself agreeing with his rather blunt demand, I politely ask the same as Kakuzu did."

The white half formed a smile while the black half remained frowning: "Of course, we shall answer. I am White Zetsu."

And then the black half moved its lips moved and a similar voice came out but it was much deeper and had a rougher tone. **"And I am Black Zetsu. We come on behalf of the Leader of Amegakure, who is searching for powerful ninjas such as yourself for a mission that may last years but if you survive and succeed, you shall be rewarded greatly."**

Orochimaru was perplexed why Hanzo would need to recruit others: "Why would the mighty Hanzo the Salamander require the service of others outside of his village?" Kakuzu nodded in his own confirmation of similar thoughts

Both halves of the Zetsu creature smiled before they bioth responded in sequence: "We don't serve Hanzo. **Hanzo is no longer leader of Amegakure nor among the living.** Hanzo was killed in combat a week ago. **We serve his killer and Hanzo's successor: Pain-sama, who invites you to join the organization he is building to carry out this mission.** You are free to refuse but it will have consequences. **Namely that Pain-sama himself shall come and force you to join with much less leniency in negotiating your reward for accomplishing the mission.** We are on a timetable and must report back to him. **What will your answer be?**"

Orochimaru was horrified at what he had just heard. Someone had managed to defeat Hanzo. This was not someone whose ire was to be earned.

But the Snake's mind saw opportunity. With a powerful ally like that, perhaps it would help to keep undesirable attention away from his operation for the time being. Perhaps Pain would be willing to assist with an invasion of Konoha during their partnership.

Kakuzu answered first "I will join this, only because it intrigues me for the moment."

"As will I. When should we meet with this Pain?" Orochimaru asked

Zetsu smiled then threw two ring at the Missing Nin. "Excellent. Worry not about when it shall begin, just wear the ring at all times. Soon it shall be clear on why."

The creature then melted into the ground and any trace of a chakra signature was gone in seconds.

Both Missing Nin were left wondering what madness they had gotten into and what the next years would hold.

However Zetsu did not go straight to his supposed master instead he re-emerged from the ground in a faraway place.

"Well that went better than expected." The white half muttered.

"**Indeed it did."** The black responded

"I told you that the Snake would be in the Land of Rice Paddies and that the bounty hunter would be after him, especially after I set up the newer bounty to entice his greed. Did you not believe me that I was telling the truth?" a new presence asked.

The creature turned and saw the masked man who was there with them, but was unsurprised by his presence.

The White half responded "Yes there was some doubt in our minds, but you have put it to rest, Nanashi."

The masked one bowed "Thank you for using that name this time instead of my real name. We never know who may be listening where."

The black half responded: **"You have proven yourself trustworthy and you have proven your use over the last few years. We are inclined to start listening to the requests you gave us: such as using your alias Nanashi to refer to you. The rest will come in due time. Especially now that we have Tobi back in line after his fight with Namikaze caused severe brain damage and led him to believe that he truly was Madara."**

The White Half continued: "We were able to implant a special cell into his damaged brain that will allow us to manipulate his thoughts. It eliminates the possibility of Tobi breaking orders and causing a hitch in our plans."

Nanashi nod before he responded "Where do we go from here?"

To which the Black half responded: **"We shall present both the candidates we have scouted for Akatsuki and the potential recruits we have yet to approach with membership. We shall be giving your name as one of them. One of your request will be fulfilled with our planned attack in 8 years. Your final request will be attempted to be fulfilled around that time."**

Nanashi responded: "I see. Thank you for your cooperation, I look forward to our future partnership."

And the masked Nanashi left with light shining down on his mask to reveal what lied in the shadows of his mask's eyeholes: Pale, white eyes. The all-seeing Byakugan.

A new enemy had emerged, one that Konoha had no knowledge on in the slightest.

Xxx

_Konoha _

_10 days following the events in Kupo._

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat smoking his pipe in contemplation of what Jiraiya had informed him off,

Hanzo was dead and control of Ame had been taken by his killers who had issued a gag order on the whole thing.

But the most startling part was the fact that one of the killers was the bearer of the mythical Rinnegan. With power like that, it made Hanzo's defeat and death make sense.

A sense of dread enveloped the old Hokage at what this could mean, especially with their sights set on the Biju.

Sarutobi eventually addressed his student: "Jiraiya, is there anything else I should know?"

Jiraiya nodded: "Two years ago, I was approached by an old acquaintance of yours, a man named Kageyami Hisashi, who offered to help expand my network's reach with his own network in exchange for being able to tap my own. I agreed."

Hiruzen was shocked, Hisashi was still alive. The man hadn't been seen since the 3rd Great Ninja War when he provided intel that proved critical in the battle that would later become Minato's infamous thousand man massacre. Hiruzen had always expected something was strange about him besides his lack of chakra but this would be thoughts for later.

Hiruzen returned to the conversation: "I'm assuming this was how you found out about Ame?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah. The man has a talent for befriending and preserving healthy relationships with people who can get him the most information and the most critical bits."

Hiruzen spoke: "Something I know all too well."

Jiraiya spoke: "He sent a letter that meant for you." the sage said holding out the scroll with Hisashi's kanjis for "Shadow", "Darkness", and "Past" on the seal.

Hiruzen opened it and began reading:

_Yo Hiruzen!_

_How have things been going since we last met face to face? hehe._

_Don't answer that, I heard about Biwako, you have my condolences. I know the pain of losing family and close loved ones all too well._

_So I'm assuming Jiraiya told you about Pain like I will be asking him to and he probably mixed in my personal view on how things could go down if the info leaked to more volatile recipients. Word of advice, don't let it happen._

_Now, about my absence which I'm sure that you will be asking about. I had to leave the Elemental Nations due to multiple threats emerging from where I'm from that I'm uniquely suited to deal with in some cases and in others make a good meat shield and dumbass they send down a booby-trapped hall way to trigger all the traps. That and Relativity is a bitch._

_I have been keeping an eye on you all through my network which I still checked on. However then I began to hear the rumors of the Boogieman of Ame's underworld: Pain. Time eventually proved that I couldn't sit this one out._

_I began making new moves to fix up my network and began to plot out schemes to indirectly help and counter Pain. However, two certain members of the Hyuga Clan began reporting strange behavior from Hitomi and frequent visits from both Team Minato and Jiraiya._

_Then I noticed the lack of sighting of Ni'i Yugito. Did some math and checked the work by both adding and subtracting; and had to run quiet a bit of higher math to ensure it was right._

_I used those connections to take an issue that had just emerged within The Hyuga, and have them not deal with it until the night of December 22nd requiring Hiashi to be pulled away from the delivery room, to allow Minato's students to take Hiashi's daughter to a sealing chamber and perform the sealing of the Monster Cat. Anyways, just thought to confess it._

_Well I have to run so I will see you around._

_Hisashi._

Hiruzen sighed: "It definitively is the same material used for messages and the handwriting looked about the same."

Jiraiya spoke: "What now?"

Hiruzen spoke as calmly as possible: "We gather our strength quietly and prepare for the worst."

Jiraiya nodded and left Hiruzen. who kept on toiling through the paper work.

Equally unaware of the threat that had begun to plan to strike their village.

End Chapter 6

**Well how was that for a chapter?**

**First off, I know Hisashi is a bit out of left field and doesn't really fit with the setting, but that is completely intentional. He is meant to not really fit and as time goes on it will be revealed why. He will be a reoccurring character, but at best he will be a slightly important reoccurring background character who occasional steps to the foreground before vanishing back into the background again. At worst, he might be an important background character.**

**So we finally see what Kumo's reaction to Yugito's death and we see the initial effects it has on it, as well as the payoff to the man fleeing Amegakure in the previous chapter. Now Konoha, or at least the Hokage, is aware of Pain far in advanced. How will this change things? We also saw a bit of foreshadowing with the Seer Toad's vision at the end of his segment. I consider it to be a continuing of the prophecy he gave Jiraiya in the 3****rd**** chapter, like that was the first third, this was the second third, and the final third shall be given when it comes time for it. **

**Though I will admit that what was seen here was merely half of this third and the other half will be given later**

**Also Hinata is getting the Toad contract, it's been an idea that I got a while back as in why not just give it to both Jinchuriki. Hinata being given summoning contracts is a major part in a lot of fanfics. I haven't read a single fic where Hinata was given the Toad contract, so I decided to make it so here. It was actually part of another one of my projects that managed to just barely get into note writing that she was going to get the Toad contract but that one is suffering from so much I don't think it will get released. Sorry Beneficial Failure, you lost out to your little sister Seals of Fate.**

**About Obito's segment: as far as I can remember, we are never given an exact definition for what counts as a Cursed Seal in Canon, so I decided to give it. Obito's thoughts on the Hyuga clan and their system is pretty similar to my own thoughts, I see it as just one giant attempt to further enforce their superiority and doing so by forcing it on their own family. I have heard arguments to the contrary by both fans and fanfic writers alike, but it still comes off to me as that.**

**This also marks Itachi's first appearance in this fic. I was brainstorming ideas and found this to be a nice idea to do. **

**Orochimaru and Zetsu section was to establish the current recruiting for the Akatsuki and some of Tobi's true nature here. Yes, it is like canon and Tobi is not Madara, but he began to believe he was after the fight with Minato due to brain damage.**

**Nanashi is a canon character, but the reason he is going by that alias is because of a spoiler for later. He will be unmasked and identified at a later date, but not yet.**

**There was supposed to be a section after the final section of this chapter, but I decided to move it to the next chapter. **

**Well final editing has been complete, it is currently 7:45 PM on 2/26/2020. Upload will occur in a few minutes.**

**I apologize for how long this chapter was, but some sections needed it.**

**I have got college classes tomorrow so I'm going to end this quickly so I can prepare for tomorrow.**

**Change log 4/19/2020 at 1:30 am: Yes that time is right. There might be some punch drunkenness mutating my thoughts. I tried my best to deal with them as they came. this is going up in a minute. and shout outs to my 25TH review: Antex- The Legendary Zoroark. in response: to his review: Thanks man I needed that bit of encouragement.**

**change log 4/19/2020 at 1:03 pm: Back once more 12 hours later, nothing new except fixing spelling errors and punch drunk text.**

**SEE YA LATER!**


	7. The Tense Calm

Seals of Fate

**Well back again.**

**No, I'm not sick with Coronavirus nor am I dead. But the town I live in, Danville, VA, did just have its first confirmed case of COVID-19 announced the Sunday, 3/22/2020, before this chapter was finished and uploaded.**

**First off, I apologize for how long this chapter took. Writer's block is a bitch. I won't offer excuses, but I will offer an extra-long chapter as penance.**

**Secondly, the upload of this chapter should coincide with revised versions of the previous chapters being uploaded, if not a day or two before or after. The revisions were mostly spell checking that slipped by me, adding words that were missing, and fixing some of the early weirdness that was in Chapter 1's nomenclature. I also added a cut segment from the previous chapter into its newer version, to wrap up a plot that was started by an earlier segment and was originally supposed to be part of this chapter's beginning, but was cut from this chapter and re-added to the previous one due to pacing.**

**Thirdly, there is a seven year time skip in between the new final segment of chapter 6 and the first segment of this chapter.**

**And fourthly, in case anyone was thinking it due to a character not making any appearances, I would like to say that no, Tobi is not Shisui. Shisui is actually do to make his first appearance here in this chapter.**

**Anyways this file was created on 2/26/2020.**

**I took some time off in the middle of writing this to combat my writer's block that had occurred during this chapter by creating a new fic that will be periodically updated between chapters of Seals.**

**My birthday, March 13****th****, happened in the middle of the writing for this chapter. Happy 20****th**** birthday to me. It also happened to be a Friday the 13****th**** and everything went to hell with Coronavirus on that day. Something I have to live with from now on.**

Chapter 7

The Tense Calm

_The land of Water_

_In the Countryside of the Main Island_

_Seven years and four months following the Day of Pain_

_8 months till the planned attack_

The country had been torn apart by the civil war between the forces of the Third Mizukage and the various factions that had formed in rebellion to his increasingly tyrannical regime ever since the end of the Third Great Ninja War.

Three men walked down a road to a small village that was a day and a half away from the main island foothold used by one of the larger factions rebelling against the Third Mizukage, of which they were members of.

Each carried a unique sword on their backs.

A long thin sword attached to wire: the Nuibari longsword, the Sewing Needle. He was Kuriare Kushimaru, the Sewing Spider.

A hammer attached to an axe by a chain: the Kabutowari blunt sword, the Helmet Splitter. He was Akebino Jinin, the Skull Crusher.

A large broad sword that held a notch big enough for a head and neck to be put through at the center of the sword above the handle: the Kubikiribocho broadsword, the Executioner's Sword. He was Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

The reason they were traveling this way was due to word that one of the information sellers who had begun selling intel, a strange and eccentric man but he had never told them wrong, had given them that two of the Seven Swords had been spotted on a pair Shinobi that were heading towards this village leading a large army of Mizukage loyalists.

The descriptions given matched the Shibuki blast sword, otherwise known as the Splatter, and the Kiba blades, otherwise known as the Lightning Fangs.

The wielder of the Shibuki before the civil war had exploded, Munashi Jinpachi, had a reputation for being a bloodthirsty bastard. It came as no surprise that he choose to ally with the side that was devoted to maintaining the Blood Mist reputation that had been built for Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mists.

However the wielder for the Kiba blades before the civil war got going was Ringo Ameyuri, and she had joined up with the same rebel faction as her fellow rebelling swordsman.

And with over half of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist united in the rebellion against the Third Mizukage, the people began to question whether or not it was right to keep him in power.

But then Ameyuri had disappeared earlier in the year on a mission and no sign of what happened to her was found.

However the information seller told of a grim rumor that he had heard of what was occurring in Kirigakure.

Rumors that a new Swordsman had been named by the old bastard, one who wielded the Kiba blades. The info-seller claimed that rumors identified the man as Kurosaki Raiga, and that name put a bad taste in Zabuza's mouth.

Zabuza made no attempt to hide the fact that he liked fighting and killing, if you wanted to keep being a ninja long term and not let the job wear you done then you had to learn to enjoy the parts that would be routine. Kushimaru and Jinin were the same way.

But everyone from Kiri knew Raiga didn't enjoy killing, no he enjoyed making dead bodies and then giving them funerals. And if he did enjoy killing then it took second place to his love for funerals.

However what really drove them sick was the whispers that Ameyuri's body was hung out in a public square to be desecrated.

If there was proof that there was a definitive force for evil in the world and that its will drove monstrous individuals to do their sick work, then Raiga was one of them as well as whoever allowed that to happen to their comrade.

But with Raiga and the Kiba blades on their side, it meant that the power balance between the rebellion and the Third Mizukage loyalists had been put into balance, with Jinpachi and the Shibuki as well as Kisame and the Samehada great sword.

No one knew what Hozuki Mangetsu was up to. Everyone had assumed that he decided that he wasn't getting involved in the war and went into hiding with his brother and apprentice, and took the Hirameki twin sword with him.

If it was true, then it was a smart idea in theory. So long as whoever came to power after the war, be it a Fourth Mizukage taking power or the Third keeping it, was willing to forgive the Hozuki deciding to protect what he had by not getting involved.

Mangetsu never was big on being a coward, but no one wants to go down in history as the fearless idiot whose idiocy resulted in the extinction of their clan. If he was taking that into account for whatever decision he made, which was plausible considering that he and his little brother Suigetsu were the last of the liquefying Hozuki clan, then Mangetsu taking himself and his little brother into hiding made sense.

Overtime as they were walking, it came to be that the only sound to be heard was the men thinking. Even Jinin had stopped telling his war story, realizing that something was wrong but couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Eventually Kushimaru spoke up: "I'm guessing both of you have noticed it by now."

Jinin spoke then: "Yeah, I noticed that we haven't seen any wild animals for some time now. And in an area like this, that is definitely unusual."

Zabuza spoke next: "Well I noticed the same but I didn't speak up because I noticed some birds flying overhead. Took me a while to notice that they're vultures, crows, and other scavengers circling."

Kushimaru nodded: "I suggest we pick up the pace. If there was a massacre, then there might be evidence to who did it, and they might have missed some."

All three men began running.

It was minutes later that they arrived in the village.

Or, more precisely, the smoldering and destroyed remains of it.

Zabuza looked around, blast marks were everywhere along with decaying gore from what he assumed was the bodies destroyed by the explosions that caused the marks.

Jinin was barely containing his rage: "Dammit! Those animals! They didn't even have basic decency!"

Zabuza looked over to where Jinin was fuming and found what he was raging over, the corpses of children who had their throats slashed among other injuries.

Zabuza spoke up: "We already know who led this, it was Jinpachi. Blast marks from explosives are all over the place and match up with his style. We know he was here at least."

Kushimaru cut in: "Raiga was here as well. Some of the structures have slices in them that are clearly recognizable as the carnage that the Kiba blades make when they're energized. There is a mass grave here as well, I didn't need to dig it up to know that it was one. I have seen enough to know the signs of one."

Zabuza questioned: "Hey Kushimaru, looking at all this, do you think there is any chance that there were survivors?"

Kushimaru thought for a moment before answering: "Perhaps, it is a very small chance, but it is noteworthy."

Zabuza nodded: "Then we spread out and search for them. If they are still alive, we need to get them to safety."

Jinin had finally come down from his rage by now and joined in: "We owe that to them for not being able to protect them from this tragedy."

The other two nodded.

Jinin began moving rubble to search for anyone who might be trapped under it.

Kushimaru began a thorough sweep of the village, checking any human body that was intact enough to have a chance to still be alive.

Zabuza began sweeping the outskirts of the village.

Eventually the wielder of the Kubikiribocho headed to what looked like a farm on the outskirts.

By that time Jinin had caught up to him.

Zabuza questioned him: "You find anything other than more corpses?"

Jinin shook his head: "Not a damn thing other than more people who didn't need to die but did. You?"

Zabuza merely kept his focus in front of him: "Some bodies intact enough to be discerned that they were human originally."

Jinin merely grunted, growling under his breath afterwards.

By that point they noticed a main house to the farm where presumably the owner and his family lived and what appeared to be a storage building.

Zabuza motioned to stop and quietly said: "You take the storage building. I'll handle the house."

Jinin nodded: "Got it."

Zabuza crept up to the house to see that the door had been broken down, alongside other obvious signs of a forced entry.

He slowly moved inside and moved along to see the corpse of a man who had been stabbed to death with a sword in there.

However he moved on and eventually came up on something that shocked him.

"Ice? Impossible." Zabuza mumbled in awe.

He reached out and touched the spike of frozen water, expecting it to fade away as though it were a genjutsu.

It didn't and it felt extremely cold to the touch.

It was real. It was at that point that Zabuza snapped out of his stupor and noticed the blood on the ice.

Could a Yuki member have been a part of the raiding party that destroyed the village?

He crept past the spike to see yet another this time with a body impaled on it.

One that wore the uniform of Kirigakure and bearing the mark of the third Mizukage's regime, the symbol for Kiri colored red like Blood, and with a sword nearby that was covered in blood and looked to match the stab wounds on the man near the entrance.

He also noticed that the spike was pointing outward, as if made to impale an opponent rushing toward them.

Could a Yuki have been living in the village when it was attacked?

However pained breathing and the sounds of panic of what sounded like a child drew his attention.

He quietly moved to where he was hearing it and saw what looked to be a mother and her child sitting down against a wall. The mother had bandages around her abdomen and looked to be in some pain.

However, a good look at their faces gave Zabuza more answers than words could give in a second.

'_Black hair and soft facial features. They're both Yuki clansmen, no doubt about it.'_

However the woman had her clarity come back for moment and noticed Zabuza, she began to weave a hand seal for a basic Ice Release jutsu.

Zabuza quickly step out from behind cover and said: "I'm a friendly. I'm Momochi Zabuza, I'm with the rebellion against the Third Mizukage."

The woman held her hands in a seal for a moment before noticing Zabuza's sword and realizing he was telling the truth. After this realization, she slowly dropped her hands from the seal.

"Zabuza, did you find someone?" Jinin's voice said while he came running towards the room that the Demon of the Hidden Mist was standing in.

Zabuza could hear Kushimaru's light and deliberate footsteps behind Jinin's heavy ones.

"Yeah I found two survivors." Zabuza responded.

Jinin and Kushimaru quickly entered the room.

Kushimaru noticed the bandaging around the woman's abdomen and quickly moved to check the injury.

The mother and her child both looked wary but some convincing calmed them down.

Kushimaru inspected it and eventually spoke: "This injury is not immediately fatal, but it will kill you eventually, if not from internal damage then from infection. We need to get you to a facility with staff who can treat this injury. The bandaging has helped but it needs to be better treated. The nearest facility that could effectively treat this is a day and a half away, where we came from. We were already planning on taking any survivors we found there. But for you if you wish to live, we must leave soon. Is there anything you want us to grab before we leave?"

The woman merely nodded to Kushimaru before she told her child something, who nodded and left the room before returning with a small bag.

Zabuza decided to ask the question: "What's your names? So we can actually refer to you properly."

The woman responded: "My name is Hitomi, my clan name is Yuki, but I left it behind when I married my husband. He had no family name. Our son's name is Haku."

Kushimaru responded: "Alright then Hitomi-san. Jinin, carry her. Zabuza or I will carry the boy."

Zabuza responded: "I'll take him. Let's move."

And with that the group left the smoldering remains of both the village and the farm and made for the base.

A race against time had begun to save one life that hung in the balance to save it from being another claimed by a pointless tragedy.

Xxx

_Konoha _

_5 months till the planned attack_

It had been eight years since the Kyubi attack and the loss of life that came about as a result.

It had taken a while, but the village had repaired most of the damage from the sudden attack.

A sense of normalcy that had been lost to paranoia and fear of another attack by the Fox returning to finish the job or an enemy coming in the wake of the attack to destroy what the Fox missed, had finally been restored to the elder residence of the village.

However while everyone else was going about their normal routine, two young shinobi were currently testing themselves against each other on a training ground that they had been using as long as they were ninja:

Training Ground 7.

"Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!" one voice cried as a spiraling wave of flames was spat out at his opponent who countered quickly.

"Water Release: High Pressure Torrent!" the opponent cried as she began spitting out a massive wave of water towards the flaming tornado aiming to engulf her.

The two jutsu clashed but the torrent won, albeit at the cost of expending most of its energy. The loser of the clash quickly vanished into a spiraling disturbance.

Rin moved towards the river that ran through the training ground and began preparing her next attack for the moment that Obito re-emerged from the Kamui world. She focused and listened for the pressure shift created by the spatial jump to and from the alternate dimension.

The moment she heard it she turned towards where it was coming from and unleashed her attack: "Water Release: Multi Water Dragon Bullet!"

The water from the river began condensing together to form three Water Dragon constructs with glowing red "eyes" that roared before hurtling towards their target.

Apparently Obito wasn't expecting that attack and was blindsided by it. Rin quickly rushed towards him only for him to quickly substitute before the third dragon could hit him.

Rin could only smile at this. If Obito was warping around like this, then she was keeping him on edge.

Using the moment, she made a single hand seal and began forming another Water Dragon from the river water.

Rin had a feeling she already knew what Jutsu he was going to throw at her.

She began listening closely for any air pressure shifts associated with Kamui Warping, but heard none.

But she did hear the sound of feet being pressed to the ground hard to jump and immediately turned to the direction it came from, seeing Obito high above the tree line that was next to the river.

Her expectation was fulfilled when he finished the hand seals and shouted his jutsu: "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Stream!"

Obito began expelling a massive flame that was shaped similar to a dragon that began coming at her.

Rin countered by making another hand seal, pulling more water to the forming construct which completed it and then proceeded to launch it at the Uchiha and his fire dragon: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The two jutsus clashed, but neither could over power the other and ended up cancelling each other out.

Rin quickly rushed at Obito while he was distracted by the clash between the dragon constructs and punched him before he had a chance to substitute or use Kamui in any way.

It caught him off balance but the Uchiha countered by going all in and making it a Taijutsu clash.

For ever punch Rin landed on him, Obito responded with a blow of his own on her.

They said that when two shinobi of equal skill clash, that the blows they trade communicated more to one another than any words could.

In this sparring couple's case, their fists communicated the enjoyment they were both having as well as the desire to have it go for as long as possible.

But knowing the day and the obligations that they had today, this combat had to end soon.

And both combatants knew exactly how they wanted to end it.

Soon they ended the Taijutsu clash and put some distance between one another and began molding chakra in a very specific way.

Into a sphere held in each's open palm.

When both were ready, they charged at each other. They were intent on making sure that this clash would be memorable.

As they drew close to one another, they began thrusting their held Rasengans toward the other.

Soon, the spiraling balls made contact and the clash began. With both of their voices crying at the same time the name of the jutsu that their sensei had passed down to them: "RASENGAN!"

Both Rin and Obito stood firm in their clash, refusing to give ground to the other.

The clash between the two would not be settled by who was stronger, but by whose jutsu would be dispelled first.

What felt like hours passed before the clash began to wind up.

Neither jutsu could overpower the other. Both ended up exploding into a storm of spiraling power.

Both teenagers were blown back, neither was seriously hurt by the blast, but they were both in pain.

Eventually, Rin's advanced healing due to hosting Isobu fixed her up enough to get over to Obito.

Obito coughed and smirked: "Well, well, Rin-chan. I would guess that by the fact that we both ended up pretty messed up by that last attack that our fight is a draw."

Rin smiled weakly: "Yeah, I agree with that call on the fight, Obito-kun. Do you need treatment?"

Obito laughed: "Yeah probably so. Considering that I don't have a Biju in me to speed up my healing, I guess I will take the next best thing and ask the pretty medic who also happens to be my girlfriend patch me up real nicely."

Rin rolled her eyes slightly with a small grin on her lips: "Well asking is nice but she was already planning on doing it for free."

Obito closed his eyes as Rin put her palm on his chest and began performing the Mystic Palm Jutsu, the most basic Medical technique.

After a few minutes, Obito's bruised body looked almost good as new.

Though when he got up and walked around, he did have a bit of a limp. Obito looked like he was getting ready to make a joke about it before Rin got him focused on their obligation.

"Come on Obito-kun. We have a place to visit today before we pick up Naruto and Hinata from the academy for later." Rin said.

The sentence brought a frown to Obito's face as it reminded him what day it was: October 10th. The day that Naruto was born and the Kyubi was busted out of its seal keeping it in Kushina. The day so many lives were lost and the day that claimed the lives of both of the couple's senseis in order to put a stop to the carnage.

Rin was referring to the graves that was made for Minato-sensei and Kushina-sensei.

Seven years ago, the young couple resolved to visit their mentors' graves on the first anniversary of their mentors' deaths. Both decided to visit once a year following it.

Rin remembered that not too long afterwards, Obito finally relented and got help from a Yamanaka regarding the left over trauma from the illusion he was exposed to causing the development of his Mangekyo. She had listened when Obito told her about what all he remembered seeing and she was surprised that he was able to pull through as well as Obito did.

It was still a work in progress, but it had yielded one major clue: the name of the technique that he was exposed to that created such a powerful illusion was called Demonic Illusion: Poisoned Reality. They had asked Kurenai who had fashioned herself a Genjutsu expert but she had admitted point blank that she had never heard that technique's name nor knew that such a powerful illusion existed. Though she did promise to look into it and send any information she found their way.

The visit to the graves for the following year had Obito reaffirm his old dream. Before the incident that saw his Mangekyo emerge, Obito constantly boasted about his dream to be Hokage while afterwards he went awfully quiet about it. It was almost to the point that Rin had believed he had given up on his dream altogether, however the visit to the graves that year saw Obito swear to continue to reach for the dream, to honor both teachers who reached for it as well.

Rin had a suspicion that his new fervor for seeking to claim the hat and position of the Hokage had to do with a change of motive behind it. As a kid he wanted it to get acknowledgement due to his status as the black sheep of the Uchiha Clan, but Obito admitted that he was reaching for it now to guide the village to a better future, one that both Minato and Kushina both would be proud of.

Rin knew he was being honest in that, but she got the feeling he was doing it more for Naruto, to give him a chance to inherit a world that wasn't constantly on the brink of a war or living in fear of one.

Not too long after that visit, Obito was approached by Hiruzen-sama who offered to mentor the Uchiha to one day take up the position. When Rin asked him on why he chose Obito, the Old Hokage responded that no one had the same determination to reach for the position like Obito now possessed.

Rin also suspected that the Old Monkey wanted the next Hokage to be an Uchiha to help smooth over the tensions rising from the marginalization of the Uchiha.

The following year, five years ago, Kakashi decided to start joining then for the yearly visit.

Usually the visits was just recapping what all happened during the previous year, kind of like telling them what all had happened. It was kind of a meaningless gesture, but it felt like their teacher could hear them and that alone gave it enough meaning.

As they walked to the cemetery, the couple encountered their teammate heading away into the village.

Obito spoke: "Hey Kakashi, where ya heading? You do realize that the graves are that way, right?"

Kakashi rolled his uncovered eye before sighing: "Yes Obito, I realize that. I'm not one to forget directions. I have already visited for today, I have an engagement to get to at the time we usually visit the graves so I decided to visit our teachers' graves early rather than keeping them waiting."

Rin could only marvel at how much emotion that Kakashi could express with only a single eye visible on his face.

Rin spoke up now: "We wouldn't want to keep you from it. See you later Kakashi. Obito-kun, let's get going. We've got our own visit to make."

Obito nodded: "Yeah, let's get going."

Kakashi waved bye to them as they headed to the graves of Minato and Kushina.

An hour later, the couple departed to the academy to pick up the young Jinchurikis.

When they arrived they found the two sitting against the academy wall talking before the young students noticed the couple.

"Nee-chan! Nii-san!" "Obito-san. Rin-san."

The two kids had been friends ever since they had been little. Playmates when they were toddlers and best friends going forward. Where one was, the other was usually nearby unless circumstances had forbidden it. Naruto encouraged the normally shy girl to open up and be outgoing, and Hinata encouraged him to show a little restraint and forethought in his actions and speech.

Hitomi help to allow Hinata to have a normal childhood, motivated by her own lacking childhood. She made up for it by taking personal care of any clan based training the young Hyuga needed to undertake. Rin got the impression that Hitomi was hoping to allow Hinata to see the divide between the two sides of the clan and form her thoughts and opinions on it without being coerced towards a certain way of thinking.

Though Hitomi had mentioned that she doubted that Hinata would be a suitable clan head for the Hyuga, nor would she be accepted as one should she ascend to the position should her secret come out before or during that hypothetical time.

It was too early to tell with her second child, a three year old girl named Hanabi. Thank goodness that Rin had taken up part time work at the hospital to keep her in the village to look after Naruto after the disaster that was Kakashi and Obito's turn with staying with him came and that competent medical personnel had been present to notice the bleeding that had been present at the delivery.

Team Minato was still trying to figure out how that diaper got into the vents and on top of the Hokage Tower the one time that Obito and Kakashi had been trusted to watch Naruto on their own.

Back on topic, Hitomi's survival meant that when the time came for the two to find out about the secrets that were currently being kept from the two children, that Hitomi would be able to explain her actions to Hinata. Those who knew had agreed that either at or around their tenth birthday was when Naruto and Hinata were to be told of what they held.

Back to the real world, Obito knelt down and held his arms out: "Hey there Kids! Come on over here!"

Naruto rushed towards the Uchiha and hugged him tight, while Hinata walked over to Rin.

Rin decided to poke around: "So Hinata-chan, did Naruto behave himself?"

Hinata pulled her hands out and started twiddling her fingers, as if she was contemplating whether or not to answer and how truthfully.

Eventually Rin decided to put her out of her misery. "Alright. Let's rephrase the question: Did he get into trouble with the teachers?"

Hinata let out a breath she had been holding before shaking her head: "N-no Rin-san."

Rin could only mentally shake her head. Even with Hitomi's specialized environment for teaching Hinata in, the girl had developed a slight problem when it came to her personal confidence. Usually it manifested in speech as a stutter and in her standard behavior as her usually closed off demeanor, it was probably why the only major friend she really had in her age group was Naruto.

Rin decided to hold her tongue on chiding Hinata on her insistence on being so formal to most people. Though she had a name to put her frustration to: Neji. The kid was her cousin by her uncle Hizashi, and on a genetic level the young Hyugas were probably more like siblings due to their fathers being identical twin siblings. Hinata even referred to Neji as her older brother.

But the boy had been put into the Hyuga Branch Family, and had taken to it with an extreme resentment towards the Main House of the clan, most prominently Hinata as if she was responsible for everything. The boy had also taken up an extreme view of Fate and a belief that all were tightly bound by it and could not defy it as a means of coping from what she had heard.

But her thoughts were bitter towards him: _'Damn that boy. If he realized what kind of damage he was causing to her would he keep on going with what he's doing to her? He probably wouldn't, and probably make it even worse on her. Any further reason to hate her he would grab onto and wear with entitlement. I hope Hizashi-san gets it under control before Neji starts planning something that he WILL regret. _

_Probably the only way he would see reason is if someone he views as beneath him or as a failure who could never succeed showed him up. Anyone else he would view as validation of his fate beliefs.'_

Rin pushed those thoughts to the side and spoke: "Come on guys. We've got some things to do, especially for the birthday boy."

The cheers that ensured put a smile on her face.

The group was on its way.

However within the depths of Rin's mindscape, Isobu sat in contemplation of the presence he had sensed at the edge of his range earlier today.

**What was it and why did it feel so familiar?**

The Biju asked to no one in particular as it stood in contemplation before it decided to rest.

Xxx

_Western half of the Elemental Nations _

_Exact Location: Unknown_

_1 month till the attack_

By what measure was an intelligent being considered human?

Was it blood and genetics?

Was it intelligence and the ability to think and feel for yourself?

Or was it an essence that could be considered a "soul"? And even then, what could constitute that measure?

Moyo was one whose entire purpose was driven by his sincere belief that he and his kin were human. They may not possess the proper origin that most humans have, nor did they possess the exact genetic makeup that most humans do. But they believed they were human none the less.

For if the ability to mold chakra was the metric that was measured and that data was used to determine if something was human or possessed a soul, then Moyo and his kin, who held the ability to mold chakra but were bred to be weapons and slaves to a cruel master, were human.

Moyo had always held a deep resentment towards their creator, who only used them as weapons to move things closer toward his ultimate goal.

However, Moyo hadn't begun planning a rebellion against his master to free himself and his kin till about 9, though nearing 10, years ago.

The masked shinobi had believed himself to be invincible after performing his infamous assassinations against Konoha using his Possessive Gaze.

But he was submissive to what he and his clan thought was their fate, to be oppressed by their creators and used as disposable pawns.

He was shown his folly by a horrifying… creature… that he had never seen anything like it before nor since that encounter.

Its body appeared to be made of some black material that formed a thick, durable hide and it was covered in protrusions that appeared to be made of bone that had grown outwards and formed makeshift armor plating on it. The creature was twice the masked shinobi's size and it held a strength far greater than its impressive size should reasonably allow, and moved far faster and quieter than anything that large had any right to be.

But the worst was its red eyes, eyes that glowed and glared with what could only be a pure, intense hatred. Like the very fact that Moyo lived and drew breath had kindled the wrath of the creature against him and the only way to resolve it was to lay him low.

He fought back and defended himself as best as he could, but the monster never tired and no matter how well Moyo hid himself, it would always find him even if he hadn't made even the faintest sound.

And even worse, it seemed as though the monster was _learning_ during the fight, learning how to improve for future encounters with similar opponents.

Eventually he had been cornered, injured, and was about to be killed when his saviors arrived.

A loud piercing sound and the creature roaring in pain with a hole formed on its body from where a chunk of its body had been blown completely off.

The creature barely noticed the damage after that, instead glaring and snarling at the new combatants, two men who were now standing between it and it's would have been victim's spilled blood.

The two men destroyed the creature after a long bout, with the killing blow being dealt by having a small blade attached to a chain being forced through the bone layering on its head, then its thick hide, through its skull, and finally into the creature's brain: ending it.

Moyo had been entranced by the weapon one of his heroes used, the chained blade. Every move he saw was evidence of decades of practice with the relatively unorthodox weapon.

Mere minutes after the killing blow had been struck, the creature's corpse disintegrated, as if it had never been there at all, but the battle scarred landscape that it had created was left behind.

The two men had helped him recover, treating his injuries and allowing him to heal.

The conversation that had been held during that day he spent recovering was eye-opening.

Moyo insisted that there had to be something he could do to repay them. They denied any form of repayment, but he continued to insist and eventually they gave in before they parted ways.

He would never forget what the one who did give his actual name, Koryo Hideki, asked as their payment: _"Live your life kid, live it to the absolute fullest. Not foolishly nor selfishly, but in the service of something far higher than yourself that you truly believe in. Do that, and I know it will be enough for me and I think it will be enough for Ryu here, Right?"_

The man who went by the alias Ryu definitely affirmed his agreement.

Though Ryu's speech on personal redemption after the great amount of mistakes one commits on the path to accomplishing one's dream and mission did resonate with Moyo, especially with the lives he stole in service to his creator and how many more he would have to take before the end.

Moyo also got the distinct impression that Ryu was speaking from experience, with hands stained by the blood of those who had gotten into his way on his path to see his life's mission complete.

Hideki-sama and Ryu-sama parted with Moyo with a final gift to the young shinobi they had saved, a piece of advice for his rebellion that he had made his dream.

Soon after Moyo made good on his promised repayment, he trained himself to be the best he could be on his own in body, mind, chakra, dojutsu, and skill; and had begun plotting his uprising.

He recreated Ryu's weapon and began using his memories to recreate Ryu's weapon style. Good thing that the masked shinobi had a knack for reverse engineering fighting styles that he had witnessed.

He became more than the simple test subject that he had originally been meant to be.

He clawed his way to the top of his kin and was granted leadership over them by their master, who was none the wiser to Moyo's intentions.

With Moyo's leadership came a stable power structure, based on that of the shinobi clans.

Moyo planned to formally announce his rebellion to his kind's creator by declaring themselves in a single, united voice a clan: The Makayu.

But dealing with those who were loyal to their bastard of a master was something that had to happen, suicide missions and MIAs were unfortunate events that could be easily overlooked.

However he still had to deal with 40 more of his brothers and sisters who were still firmly loyal to their bastard of a creator.

These 40 held the title of Black Flames, identifiable by the Black Flame patterns that adorned their masks. Those who had joined Moyo's dream usually either destroyed their original masks and replaced it with one that better reflected themselves or just repainted it with a design that they found to match them personally.

Moyo never had the chance to do such a thing, the creature from all those years ago destroyed his original black flame mask. It managed to drag it claws across his face in the following blow, creating hollow scratches on his face that eventually scarred.

Refocusing on the present day and the upcoming mission, which presented the perfect opportunity to have them dealt with and begin advancing himself into a better position to execute his insurrection would soon be here.

Currently, Moyo and a handpicked group to accomplish a mission that would be taking place soon, which coincidentally consisted of the 40 who were loyal to their creator, were moving through Rivers to set themselves up to strike when given the order.

Moyo had every confidence that the traitors would be dealt with by their targets, however some damage against their target as well as some of the objectives for their mission would be accomplished. But this was the first step to starting his revolution.

However, two of the masked shinobi he sought to dispose of he had his doubts that they wouldn't be able to survive: Mai and Kudo.

Mai was a survivor. She held enough caution and craftiness to be a legitimate threat but at the same time, was a fighter who loved a good tussle. An odd combination all things considered. She would most likely stay back and allow her partner to fight the target first for Mai to plan around. If Mai was backed up into a corner hard enough with the right trap keeping her there, she would most likely make use of a forbidden jutsu to escape.

Moyo had tried to recruit Mai to the Makayu before, but she choose to decline. She didn't act like most of the other Black Flames and Moyo got the read that the proper convincing method would see to her joining the rebellion. She had some honor and choose not to tell others about it nor inform their creator of it. Moyo was thankful but felt a twinge of guilt over what he was throwing her into, but buried it in a mental lot reserved for all his regrets regarding his rebellion. He had no idea on how to persuade her to change sides, he had tried so many methods and none worked.

At this point, it was probably safer to dispose of her before she decided to spill on him.

Kudo on the other hand was a complete nightmare. Monstrous in personality, though Moyo remembered a time when himself and Kudo were like brothers. But that was many years ago. Kudo had gradually collected both scars to both his body and his sanity. By the time Moyo found the light, Kudo had given in to the darkness and monstrous insanity that dwelt inside of him, and with that surrender came a power that Moyo feared but would one day most likely be forced to face. Kudo had been sent on multiple suicide missions and he had managed to come back with maybe a new scar on top of a preexisting one. Assassins being sent after him were out of the question considering their creator network. At least for the moment.

As the group began moving once again after stopping and resting for a night, Moyo's thoughts turned towards the coming fight and the significance it was due to accomplish.

'_How many times have I been neck deep in a mission and surrounded by enemies who weren't even aware of the enmity that was between us? This time, however, it will be to for a goal much higher than a mission given to me by 'Creator-sama', it will be so that the Makayu will be able to break free from his tyranny and be able to choose our own lives. Creator has grown complacent, not even realizing what I'm planning. _

_Hehe, how many old tales tied to some of the stories for the supposed origin of man involved their creator, creators, or precursors growing complacent or careless and callous in their treatment of mankind and led to man deciding to overthrow them?_

_You may have created us, but we are not like you entirely nor are we slaves to you.'_

As the group began to move to its next position to take up before any patrolling ninja or samurai stumbled upon the group, the masked leader of the yet to be made official Makayu clan's thoughts took on a distinct edge as the morning sun peaked over the horizon.

'_You better watch out Creator, your days of using us as slaves and weapons and pawns are numbered indeed.' _

Xxx

_Land of Tea_

_3 weeks until the planned attack_

There was few women who possessed a reputation that allowed them to be recognized almost immediately.

Celebrities, leaders, and of course Kunoichi.

Among them was Senju Tsunade of the Sannin: the Greatest Medic to ever be produced for her advancement of the field, the Strongest Kunoichi alive for her chakra control based super strength, the Slug Princess for her Slug Summoning contract,

And, of course most infamous among the gambling halls and money lenders: The Legendary Sucker for her absolutely abysmal luck when it came to gambling.

Though her luck had temporarily improved twice in her life, and both times were followed by heartbreaking tragedy costing her the lives of her loved ones.

She had managed to hold herself together rather well until about 15 years ago, right after the genin that Sarutobi-sensei had assigned her had been awarded their Jonin promotions.

Then heartbreak had been brought back and made a lot worse by a simple tragedy occurring on a battlefield, bringing the grief that had been suppressed and buried back to the surface.

The resulting breakdown led to the Slug Sannin taking her would have been niece, Kato Shizune, and going on a retirement binge.

Alcohol and Gambling had become her near constant companion alongside Shizune, traveling all over the Elemental Nations helping others for both free and for cash if needed and the patient could pay.

The vices had been indulged in to the point of addiction to help dull the pain.

Yet heartbreak still found her no matter where she went: eight years ago a letter arrived via courier Toad from Jiraiya stating that Kushina had been killed the night of October 10th. The kid had been pretty close to Tsunade, especially considering that both of them were among the last remnants of the Uzumaki Clan. She drank till she couldn't stand up that night.

The gambling got even worse somehow afterwards.

However, no matter how bad she lost out when she gambled, Tsunade always found herself back at the gambling halls.

Which was where she found herself now. Facing down her final opponent.

She had decided to move to the land of Tea for a while, following a request by letter from an old friend: Wasabi Jirocho.

The old man was the head of the Wasabi family, an organization that helped run the Land of Tea both commercially and governmentally.

They had met in-between the Second and Third Great Ninja War during some of the efforts to help repair some of the damage wreaked by the Second Great Ninja War on the smaller and poorer nations.

But now she found herself in a poker game against an eccentric man she was having a hard time reading.

There had been 12 others but they had lost all they could afford to and bowed out or had decided to go all in only to get taken out immediately afterwards.

Though this one had been playing it all, with enough money to sit through some horrible miscalculations with a smile and just kept playing or managing to use body language to get others to do his dirty work by provoking or misleading them.

He played good, very good. And he had enough luck to get away with some his bluffs and his gambles.

The man she was playing against was almost charming with the small talk he tried to make, but he would often break it on his own with some of his mumblings or the bouts of cursing whenever a man came into the room and whispered something into his ear.

Most would see that and assume he was cheating with a lookout spying on the hands of his opponents.

Most also wouldn't be skilled enough in the Shinobi arts to recognize when you were being watched trough a tiny crack and when you most definitely weren't being spied on that way.

But she noticed that the man who was informing her opponent, who she eventually learned was named Hisashi, was wearing the crest of the Wasabi Family. Apparently this Hisashi had business here that he was being informed of the goings of.

Though Tsunade had to admit that her luck was holding up surprisingly well. Though she considered going all in and trying to end this game. The current amount in play was close to about 600,000 ryo. She had only one thing she could raise with but she was holding it until she could leverage a win through draining him dry and raising to where he couldn't follow suit.

She was currently holding a Four of a Kind. Not bad, third best hand to have, but that left room for her usual luck to bite her ass.

Then Hisashi spoke: "So are we going to play or what? Show your cards."

She obliged and was prepared for defeat.

A moment of silence followed as Tsunade cursed her opponent for torturing her by not busting out in joy.

And then the noise finally happened.

"DAMMIT!" was the scream she heard and then she heard him slam his hand against the table and reveal what he had been holding: A Full House! Her hand won!

She won!

The dread would have dawned on her if it hadn't been for the euphoric high she was riding.

Then the man looked as though he still had another round in him.

"Come on! Keep going, I've still got money to blow!" the man said as he began handing his cards to the dealer.

Tsunade held her hand out: "Don't even think about it. We would have to make new bets and I would raise everything plus throw in my necklace which is worth millions of Ryo. I don't think you could begin to cover that." A smirk made its way onto her lips. The sweet taste that filled her mouth was one she knew, it was of victory.

Then the man grinned and snapped his fingers, only for a man to walk in holding something in a case.

The item was handed to her opponent who opened the small box to reveal a beautiful piece of necklace based Jewelry that looked to ornate that it should belong to one very rich Daimyo or their spouse. The most notable detail was the white gem stylized into a white rabbit.

"This is called the Moon Rabbit Necklace. Supposedly it was made as tribute to an ancient queen or empress who had ruled a vast nation spanning the entirety of the Elemental nations from her seat in the Land of Ancestors. It was appraised at a price that few could hope to match. I believe it ought to equal us out. Now if the dealer would be so kind as to shuffle the deck and deal another round, we can place this game's conclusion in the hands of fate."

Had Tsunade been in her right mind she would probably have realized what was said and probably could have avoided what was about to happen.

This time the dealer dealt with them putting everything on what was about to happen.

Tsunade looked at her cards then realized the mess she had just walked into: her hand had nothing and the highest card she had was a fucking jack.

The glint in Hisashi's eyes told her that he could see her panic and could read what caused it. She guessed that he had a decent hand and that she was about to live down to her title as the Legendary Sucker once more.

Then the cards were laid onto the tabled and low and behold: he had a pair of queens.

Most would ball out there eyes after a loss like this but Tsunade had the dignity to keep her composure. However what bugged her the most was the almost apologetic look that was in Hisashi's eyes.

Before she could leave with grace to brood over the loss she had just incurred, her opponent walked up to her and whispered in her ear: "I truly am sorry about how that ended, but I have business with you. If you would like to earn back this necklace, meet me over by the tavern just up the street in about 10 or 20 minutes. If you want to go on ahead over there then it is fine by me go ahead and order some drinks. Ill cover the tab when I get over there."

Tsunade wandered out to be met by Shizune and Ton-Ton, her pet pig. Tsunade decided to immediately take up the man's offer on drinks.

Shizune had a go at her teacher the moment after Tsunade finished explaining just what had happened, but they decided to wait for the man and see what he offered if he was willing to return the necklace of the First Hokage.

As soon as 20 minutes had just about passed did the man finally meet up with them: "I apologize for the wait, I had to get some things sorted out. Now allow me to introduce myself, I am Kageyami Hisashi, and I must say that the game we just played was truly a test of skill between equals though it was a shame that it had to be ended by a test of luck, but it was the only way I was going to be walking out without requiring brown pants."

Tsunade figured he probably knew who they were already but introduced them regardless: "I am Senju Tsunade and this is my apprentice Kato Shizune."

"Pleasure to meet you." Shizune said.

Hisashi smiled "Please, the pleasure is all mine. Though we wouldn't be having this conversation if I hadn't shoveled that bullshit with the Moon Rabbit Necklace quite as well as I did."

Tsunade's gaze hardened: "Explain. Now."

Hisashi held firm under the killing intent that was being projected by the Sannin: "Oh it's nothing too major. The necklace and its history is legitimate, I just may have fudged the value of it slightly."

Tsunade worked her jaw thinking before she responded: "Alright, fair enough. What do you want me to do?"

Hisashi spoke: "I have been working with Jiraiya, and by extension Konoha, for the past 10 years. I have aided the village since before the Third Great Ninja War by lending my intelligence to your sensei when he held the hat originally. But rumblings over the past decade have made me realize that a new war, another Great Ninja War, is around the corner, no further than the end of the next decade at the absolute latest before it explodes out. My offer is I would ask you to return to the village and return to the work you started before you finally broke and left. Do that, and I will not only return the necklace but I will return the cash you brought to the table as well as handover the money our opponents brought and pay off your numerous debts. And I promise to provide a small favor that I believe you will find most desirable further down the road. Do we have a deal?"

Tsunade worked hard to keep calm: "Nice offer but I'm not going back to being a ninja. I don't know what has got you believing that another Great Ninja War is coming but it has nothing to do with me."

Hisashi did not raise his voice but his tone grew slightly harder: "First off, I never said a damn thing about being a ninja, I was referring to your work in the medical field. Second off, Woman, do you want to know what has me scared? Hanzo the Salamander was killed in combat 8 years ago. His killers have taken control of Ame and have openly stated that their aim is the Jinchuriki and, by extension, the Biju. They have built an organization of S-Class Missing Nin called Akatsuki that is working towards that, members of whom include Five Heart Kakuzu, Sasori of the Red Sands, and your old teammate Orochimaru. And those are just the ones I have completely confirmed as wearing the organization's uniform: a black cloak with red clouds. And Pain and Konan, Hanzo's killers, have stated that they will wage war if necessary to achieve their goal. Now do you think I have a right to be worried?"

Tsunade could only gulp with her suddenly bone dry throat and mouth and nod meekly with the information that had been revealed. Eventually she spoke: "I know sensei will try to make me Hokage if I return."

Hisashi snorted before he spoke: "No he won't. Right now you are in no condition to lead a Hidden Village and even if you were, I think he would realize that you were better off leading the Medical Division. Besides he has taken up one of Minato's students as his current preferred successor, a boy named Obito. Started providing training and tips to him as a sort of apprenticeship for the position a little over about 6 years ago. The kid is dedicated to proving he is worthy of the position and Hiruzen feels that an Uchiha is owed the honor after every kick to the mouth that clan had gotten since the founding of the Village."

Tsunade sighed: "I need to think about this."

Hisashi nodded: "I expected so. I have business that I need to take care of still. I expect an answer tomorrow at noon. Meet me at the tea shop in the town square. Don't try to skip town, I will find you."

After the man had left, Shizune spoke: "Tsunade-sama, what are we going to do?"

Tsunade didn't really know what to say. The offer was tempting but so many ghosts would have to be confronted if she took it.

Eventually time passed and the two medics found themselves at the appointed place at the appointed time.

Like clockwork, the strange man appeared soon after, though the air about him seemed different. He almost looked panicked and haunted, like he didn't get any sleep last night due to whatever business he had.

Tsunade decided to press her curiosity first: "What happened to you?"

Hisashi responded: "I had to go help the Wasabi deal with some goon from their rivals who had access to information that no-one around here should. I was able to convince him to talk and give a description of who gave it to him and it was already someone whose callous nature and strange movements had already earned a spot on my watch list but this has earned them a spot on my shit list. One Hyuga Hideki, a member of the elders and the previous clan head. He's been running test involving a derivative of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. The mess the goon was involved in has been cleaned up, but I will need a few messenger slugs to get this information to those who need it to make sure that old fuck is held accountable for this. Now about my offer, do you accept?"

Tsunade sighed and strengthened her resolve for a hard sentence: "I do. I will return to Konoha."

Hisashi nodded before he pulled out 2 boxes, one containing the necklace he promised and the other containing the Ryo. "I won't be heading to Konoha, not at this time. I need to head to other places to investigate new rumors that have reached my ears. I trust you to head to the Village without me, do not make me regret that."

Tsunade shook her head: "I won't. My Family taught me that we don't back down from keeping a promise we make, both Senju and Uzumaki."

Hisashi nodded: "Good, here are the letter I need delivered, this one is to Hyuga Hiashi and Hitomi, this one is to Jiraiya, and this last one is to Hiruzen. These contain everything I need to report to any of them." Hisashi responded, holding up three envelopes that were colored differently but each had the same Kanjis on the seals.

Tsunade summoned the slugs that would deliver them and sent them on their way, before the company departed for their separate destinations.

Tsunade began thinking to herself: _'What the hell am I doing? I thought I would never go back to village again._

_Guess my loyalty wasn't as broken as I though. Heh, maybe it was because of the threat of war looming over that brought me to see some sense. Though if I had been allowed to continue on for much longer, I probably wouldn't have responded to even that._

_It has been so long since I felt like I was doing anything that was truly meaningful, to even have that bit of purpose back felt great.'_

Tsunade looked up to see the blinding light of the sun.

It may have been a trick of her eyes, but she could have sworn that she saw the smiling faces of both her deceased little brother Nawaki and fiancé Dan. She could almost tell that they were smiling because she had found her path again. She blink and they were gone but the impact remained.

'_I'm sorry that I allowed myself to drown in self-pitying at the pain from your memories instead of trying to do right by you both, but that ends now. I may not reach for your dreams in your place, but I sure as hell won't allow others from the village that you both loved die because of poorly trained medics.'_

A smile worked its way onto the medic's lips.

The last of the Senju looked on down the road and realized that the path ahead looked far clearer than it had in years.

Three and a half weeks would be a long trip, but the payoff would be worth it.

Xxx

_Konoha _

_10 days till the planned attack_

The Teleporter, of the Mirage, the Hypnotizer…

All these title belong to one member of the Hidden Leaf's Shinobi:

Uchiha Shisui

Each one had been based on something he had mastered to the point of excellence.

The Teleporter: his master of the Body Flicker technique that allowed him to cross great distances in little time with only a single hand seal.

Of the Mirage: his speed with the Body Flicker allowed him to generate afterimages for distracting opponents. The ones that were mixed with the genjutsu type clones were especially effective in throwing off trackers who relied on any form of chakra detection.

The Hypnotizer: His mastery of the sharingan's hypnotizing potential had made him a legend. To convince someone to kill themselves in the middle of a fight with just a small thought introduced into his head was a feat of genjutsu mastery for some practitioners, and his gaining of his unique Mangekyo ability Kotoatmasukami, which allowed him to rewire some one's thought process and add an objective of his own choosing while preserving their personality, had added to his legend.

Shisui was considered to be one of the fastest ninjas currently among Konoha's forces. Through his mastery of Body Flicker, he had beaten out many infamously fast ninjas from other nations, and the few that he could not outrun with the Body Flicker were among the fastest alive. The number included the current Raikage, A, who was currently the fastest ninja alive.

Shisui had just came home from a 2 week patrol. During the return trip, he had encountered an opponent that displayed an ability that he had seen before but he needed to see something else before he ruled it as the same technique.

Though he did notice someone missing from the public, Hyuga Hideki. The guy was a Hyuga elder and one of the more prominent ones due to his original tenure as Hyuga Clan Head. His disappearance from the public was easy for the Teleporter to notice.

When he asked someone about it, he definitely got a surprise: Hideki had been arrested on charges of abuse of the Hyuga privilege to use their Caged Bird Seal and planning a Coup D'état with the intension of planning on putting the Hyuga Clan on top and everyone else on bottom. The guy he asked said that everyone had been told that the former charge had already been proven true while the second was based on speculation arising from the situation that the first had been based on.

The Hypnotizer tried to get more information but the only other thing he could get that it had caused a total review of the Caged Bird Seal to be ordered. Just what it would do hadn't been said yet but the village leadership had confirmed that changes would be made.

Shisui thanked the man for his time before he began looking for someone who could help end his doubts about what he saw.

He looked around the village before stumbling upon an acquaintance who pointed him somewhere he should have known where to look already, but hadn't.

He wandered over to a restaurant where he was told to look and found exactly who he was looking for.

The hypnotizer noticed the man he was looking for talking to the man's girlfriend. The two were sitting at a table outside the restaurant he found them at. He shouldn't have been surprised that she was here, but he was going to feel like a dick for what he had to do. Fears had to be eased and suspicions and speculation had to be given answers or directed towards a new direction.

Shisui eventually called out: "Hey Obito! Long time no see!"

Obito looked over and started grinning: "Hey there Shisui! Come on over, order a drink or some food."

Shisui answered as he: "I might, though I really need to talk to Obito about something. You don't mind, do you Rin-san?"

Rin shook her head: "No, I don't mind. I needed to get back to the hospital, my lunch break is just about over. I'll see you later."

Shisui let out a held breath and his personal guilt over possibly interrupting a continuing conversation had been significantly lessened by Rin's exit.

Rin got up from the bench that she was sitting on, kissed Obito on the cheek, and then left leaving the two Uchihas there.

The initial silence was broken by Obito dropping his head and hitting it on the table a few times.

After finishing his outbreak, Obito asked: "So, What do you need to talk about?"

Shisui decided to start with small talk and then move into the odd part of the conversation he had planned: "Right before I left for the Patrol assignment two weeks ago, we talked about something that you were planning on doing. Did you do it?"

Obito's grin dropped to a frown and he sighed: "No. Nothing is how I want it to be and whenever I decide to ignore it I freeze and start having all these doubts. What you saw a moment ago was me kicking myself for not stepping up and saying it."

Shisui responded: "You're making excuses. Nothing is perfect, we just have to make do."

Obito nodded: "I know that but it doesn't change what I keep hearing in the back of my head."

Shisui decided to back off: "Fine. Just try to loosen up about it."

Obito spoke: "Thanks. I'll try. Now what are you really here for?"

Shisui just about questioned the phrasing but decided to focus on what needed to be answered: "I need you to turn your Sharingan into the Mangekyo and then activate Kamui."

Obito raised an eyebrow at that, which Shisui completely saw coming, and asked: "Not to sound negative or anything but why?"

Shisui answered: "Every Mangekyo ability has a specific symbol on the Sharingan associated with it. I need to see Kamui's, I'll answer why after."

Obito just shrugged and did as he was asked. Powering his Sharingan into the Eternal Mangekyo and activating Kamui.

Shisui thought at this: _'I was told that when he had the standard Mangekyo, Kamui's symbol was a three bladed propeller. Now with the Eternal Mangekyo, it looks as if the blades have split to form new blades, bringing the number up to six. It confirms what I ran into.'_

Obito powered his Sharingan down and asked: "So are you going to tell me why you needed me to do that?"

Shisui shook from his ongoing thought train and answered: "I'm going to give it to you straight. I encountered a masked shinobi on my return from patrol who possessed a phasing ability similar to what I had experienced when I fought you in those spars we had."

Obito spoke: "And what does that have to do with me showing Kamui's symbol?"

Shisui responded: "I got close enough to see his eye in his mask one eyehole. It was a Sharingan, but later into the fight when I slashed him and he phased again, I got another look into the eyehole of his mask and saw a three bladed propeller. He had a Mangekyo, and the resemblance between his ability's symbol and Kamui's symbol is undeniable. Even if yours is different now due to the Eternal Mangekyo, but it is similar enough to erase any doubt I had: he had Kamui."

Obito's eyes went wide: "You're telling me that there is a Missing Nin out there running around with my Kamui phasing?!"

Shisui nodded: "There is no doubt in my mind now."

Obito looked terrified, most likely due to his own projections about the potential for Kamui: "Shit. This isn't good. This is very fucking bad."

Shisui nodded: "Yeah, I agree completely. This is something that needs to be taken care of. We presumably have a rogue Uchiha running around acting like a childishly talkative loon one moment and the next like cold, murderous mastermind the next, and he has Kamui phasing, and it would probably be safe to assume that this man has the Kamui warping as well."

Obito asked: "Do we have a name and description?"

Shisui gave a response: "No name, but he wears a black cloak with red clouds and wears what I think was supposed to be a spiral flame mask with the flame in thin lines colored black forming the spiral and the rest of it colored orange with a single eyehole. His hair was the standard Uchiha black, and cut very short, almost like a buzz cut."

Obito put his hands together and continued: "Do you think we should tell the Hokage and the clan or keep it a secret till we know more?"

Shisui shrugged: "I honestly don't know. Both have their merits, but we have to at the least inform Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-sama, to start making plans to deal with him."

Obito nodded: "We should wait a few days, get a few people we can trust in to help widen our options, make a decision, and then make our move."

Shisui though before he responded: "Sounds good to me. Let's go."

Obito nodded as he got up and paid for the meal he had eaten before Shisui had arrived and the two left to keep discussing how to go about this business.

Xxx

_Land of Waterfalls_

_A secret tunnel leading to the border_

_Entrance approximately 30 kilometers away from Takigakure_

_9 days till the attack_

Takigakure stood tall among the minor villages.

It produced a level of ninja that was usually only seen from the Great Villages.

It stood out in comparison to most Hidden Villages in that it was truly hidden.

However three people, two adults and one small child, stood in front of one of the village's hidden evacuation tunnels, built 50 years ago with the firm establishment of the treaty with Konoha, standing in preparation to save a few bits of the village from being destroyed by an invasion.

The woman of the two adults spoke: "Are we certain that we cannot save Taki, Shibuki-sama?"

The man, identified as Shibuki, spoke: "I'm afraid so, Kagome. You don't have to refer to me as 'sama', I never really liked being referred to as such and I doubt I will be amongst the living anymore in two weeks. We have known that he was among their number for some time now, with him being at the helm of this incoming army of Missing Nin that we have confirmed to be universally A-ranked opponents with another wearing the same uniform as him that identifies the other as a member of the same organization, making this one most likely yet another S-ranked opponent. The odds are not in our favor which is why we are here."

The woman, Kagome, frowned and squeezed her hand tight: "Damn that Kakuzu. If only we had spotted him sooner, we could have called for help and had time for it arrive and bail us out."

Shibuki nodded. "There is no point in shedding tears over it now. Kagome, your final mission as a Shinobi of Takigakure, the Village Hidden by the Waterfall, is to ensure that our final legacy and spirit survives this threat that would gladly see it destroyed. Take the objectives and escort them to Konoha, protect the scrolls with your life, and protect the child at all costs. Ensure that a piece of our village lives on in theirs. Can I count on you?"

Kagome felt tears behind her eyes but willed them away, the last time she cried had been after her sensei and mother figure sacrificed her life to ensure Kagome had a chance to live hers. Kagome was 23 years old, and her sensei had sacrificed her life in a suicide attack against their Missing Nin captors 8 years ago.

Kagome responded: "I haven't truly failed a mission before and I won't start now." She pulled the young girl she was due to escort to the village closer to her.

Shibuki smiled: "Good. I suppose this is truly goodbye forever. I wish you both safe travels on your journey and good fortune in everything you do from there on out."

The young girl pulled free from Kagome's hand and jumped on Shibuki and hugged him as hard as she could. Shibuki reciprocated the gesture.

Eventually the girl spoke: "Thank you Shibuki-sama. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I just wish I could have been able to repay your kindness, as a Shinobi of the Waterfall."

Shibuki smiled: "I know Fu-chan, I know. But I do have an idea on the last one."

Shibuki reached into his robe and pulled out an old forehead protector with the emblem of Taki on it and handed it to the young Fu. "Back when I was an active Ninja for a short time before my father died, which was quite some time ago, I wore this as a sign of my loyalty to Taki. What you are about to do is going to be hard, but I have faith that you will be able to do it. I wish you didn't have to live with being the Jinchuriki of the Nanabi, but from what you have shown both Kagome and myself, you have chosen to accept the burden and the treatment that it causes towards you in hopes of one day being accepted. You weathered far more adversity in pursuit of that dream than most genin will before they are made chunin. You have earned this. Fu, I recognize you as a Shinobi of the Waterfall."

Fu was unable to respond while Shibuki took the protector and tied it around the young Jinchuriki's neck. Another hug came from the Jinchuriki once she came to, this one she put much of her massive strength into.

Shibuki almost couldn't breathe but Fu seemed to adjust her grip so she wouldn't cut off his air supply.

Goodbyes were said once more and the woman hoisted the small amber eyed and mint haired girl onto her back before she began running.

Once back in the village and his office, Shibuki looked towards the great tree that Taki was built around, his thoughts consuming all else: _'To think that soon, one of the eldest and proudest of the old Ninja Villages shall join the ranks of Uzushiogakure and a few others. I feel oddly at peace with this._

_I have been a coward my whole life, from the moment I opened my eyes till nearing my final days. And now I don't want to be a coward yet again._

_Kakuzu, you tried to steal our greatest secrets after betraying us and now you seek to wipe us out with your rogue army? Let them come, even if you manage to invade the village, you will not be able to strike down the will and inner strength of true shinobi of Takigakure._

_For every one of us you take, we shall strike down five of you._

_We have no hope of surviving this, but every moment you're busy with us is another that Kagome and Fu don't have to be worried about you picking up on their trail. _

_Bring every Missing Nin you can Kakuzu, Taki will make sure that few walk away.'_

The young leader thought with steel in his eyes.

'_Every darkest day is followed by a brightest hour, let this be our last finest hour if nothing else. Let the Elemental Nations tell the story of our final stand for years to come, forever immortalized in the records of history._

_Your move, Kakuzu. Don't keep us waiting too long.'_

Xxx

_A cave beneath Amegakure_

_7 days until the planned attack._

Within the darkness of a cave that had not seen human contact in quite some time, a gathering of phantoms stood.

Pain, the self-proclaimed god of peace, leader of both Amegakure and the Akatsuki, and bearer of the Rinnegan.

Konan, the right hand of Pain, the Paper Angel, and one of the last bearers of Origami release.

Zetsu, the scoutmaster for Akatsuki, who fervently sought to bring back the Jyubi, the Ten-tailed Demon.

Tobi, a delusional masked Uchiha who believed himself to be Uchiha Madara.

Kakuzu, the Five-Hearted bounty hunter, master of the Earth Grudge Fear, and the last ninja alive produced by the Warring States.

Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin, and leader of Otogakure, the Village Hidden by the Sound.

Hidan, the immortal priest of the Jashin, who delighted in the pain and death he inflicted on others.

Sasori, the puppeteer who made puppets from the bodies of shinobi, including his own.

The masked Nanashi, an enigmatic Byakugan wielder who held a mysterious agenda.

Pain spoke first, "Thank you all for being in attendance to today's meeting. With that said, we are here to discuss the Daybreak Plan, due to be executed within one week's time. We are here to ensure that everyone understands the role they are to play in the overall plan even if they are not due to take part in either invasion."

The group acknowledged Pain's statement.

Pain continued: "The primary attack is an attack on Konoha, led by Zetsu and his followers including Tobi, with 5 goals in mind: the abduction of all three Jinchuriki the village holds, damage of their numbers and hopefully taking out some of their strongest to severely weaken them in the long run, grabbing a person of interest who holds an asset that could be used to recruit a candidate we have been looking in to for some time, fulfilling owed requests to both Orochimaru and Nanashi, and the complete or near complete extermination of the Uchiha clan which was already part of the plan when Zetsu approached me with it 2 years ago."

Zetsu nodded and responded: "It is true, we were planning on wiping out the Uchiha. **Too many headaches in the last 20 years to keep them around.**"

Tobi piped up and giggled childishly: "Don't worry Pain-sama! Tobi won't let you down! Tobi's a good boy! He'll do his part!"

Orochimaru smirked at the knowledge that he would be getting what he had bargained for. Everyone got the impression that had Nanashi not wore a full face obscuring mask a massive smirk would be visible to them, most likely due to the fulfillment of what was promised to him.

Pain turned Sasori: "Sasori, you were ordered to head to the location of the village two days away from Suna. Did you obey?"

The Puppeteer acknowledge, "Indeed I have, Pain-sama."

Pain nodded, "Good, your part is to begin carrying out guerilla attacks on nearby villages and attract attention from Sunagakure. Drawing anyone who could interfere with the Daybreak Plan away from anyplace where they could be able to do so. Do not worry about Suna being able to take you down, I have every confidence that you would be able to avoid any problematic encounter and an associate of ours from Kirigakure should be arriving near you within the next day. You are to begin the attack the moment this meeting is adjourned. Any grievances against this?"

Sasori responded, "None Pain-sama."

Orochimaru responded: "Not to be a nuisance, but our targets are the jinchuriki, one of which is held by Suna: the Ichibi. Shouldn't Sasori target the village, it is considered the weakest of the 5 Great Villages, and surely it would make our mission easier in the long run?"

Konan responded to the entire group: "Orochimaru is not wrong, such a target would be easy pickings. But he is discounting a few key factors that were the reason behind deciding against going ahead and abducting the village's jinchuriki."

Sasori responded, "The village may be smaller than the other Great Villages, in terms of sheer numbers, but it stands out for the quality of shinobi it pumps out instead of the quantity pumped out by other villages in the Great Five. The village holds multiple S-ranked shinobi: Scorch Release Pakura, my grandmother Chiyo the poison puppet mistress, her brother Ebizo the wind master, and the current Kazekage: Gold Dust Rasa, to name a few. Even if my grandmother and granduncle are both old and retired, they still were amongst the strongest that the village had produced and have had their instincts and styles tempered and improved by both countless fights as well as the fighting in the 2nd Great Ninja War. Not to be forgotten but a large percentage of the village's active shinobi are classified as A-ranked opponents. Even the idea that superior Quality will always beat out a massive Quantity only holds true for so long, especially against a quantity holding a decent quality. All it could take to end me could be a single well aimed kunai while I'm distracted."

Pain cut in here: "Sasori's explanation is correct. Sasori, once the order to leave is given, ensure the associate is brought in due to the worsening situation in the Land of Water. Zetsu has confirmed that the Rebels alongside the rebelling swordsman have united under the leadership of one Terumi Mei. She has managed to begin pushing inwards at an unprecedented rate, one that Zetsu calculates will end up with the Third Mizukage's forces defeated and her forces victorious by the end of next month at the latest. This associate has a target planted on their back due to their support of the Third's regime. He must not be allowed to be apprehended. Understood?"

Sasori nodded.

Pain followed up: "But I have decided to expand on those orders as well. Orochimaru raises a good point. Sasori, I'm leaving it to your judgement, but if you believe that you can get in and kidnap the Jinchuriki, a boy named Gaara according to Zetsu, you have permission to attempt it. Understood?"

Sasori spoke: "Understood clearly, Pain-sama."

Pain continued: "Good. Moving on. Nanashi and Orochimaru, you two are to head to the Land of Tundra to the distant North and begin searching for the candidate we seek to recruit. Our intelligence indicates that his base is near the heart of the frozen wasteland that makes up most of Tundra. Once you have confirmed his base's location, you are to establish a camp not too far away and await for Zetsu to arrive."

Orochimaru responded: "Kukuku… Of course Pain-sama, though I would encourage Zetsu to make it fast, I would hate to see my end be in a frozen wasteland."

Nanashi affirmed: "Of course Pain-sama, it will be done as you command."

Pain began addressing the final part of the plan: "Kakuzu and Hidan, take the Missing Nin army that you two have assembled and attack Taki. You two have 3 objectives: locate and abduct their Nanabi Jinchuriki, steal their Forbidden Scroll which contains knowledge and techniques that will be invaluable in the long term, and destroy the village to eliminate our primary competition in underpricing the Great Villages. Kakuzu, use your discretion to determine what to take in addition to the planned objectives. Hidan, please try to keep the slaughter confined to actual enemy combatants this time." Pain finished.

Kakuzu grinned beneath his mask, feeling great joy and anticipation at the coming invasion, Taki was finally receiving what he owed it for its betrayal.

Hidan was torn between glee at opportunity to sacrifice strong shinobi to his god and Pain's orders to limit the slaughter.

Konan spoke up: "Unless anyone has anything to say or object to, this meeting is adjourned. The Daybreak Plan begins in earnest in 1 week."

The phantoms that filled the room nodded and faded away.

The clock was ticking away till the attacks would begin.

_**168:00:00**_

_**167:59:59**_

_**167:59:58**_

_**167:59:57**_

Xxx

_Land of fire_

_Outside Konoha_

_15 minutes and 57 seconds till Daybreak begins_

Everything was set for the Assault.

The dividual known collectively as Zetsu stood smirking on both sides.

Tobi was giggling like a schoolboy.

The creature heard movement from behind it and saw the approach of one of its more valuable investments, resulting from White's ability to produce body double from a touch.

Zetsu's creator, the great and mighty Kaguya-Hime-Sama who was the rightful ruler of this world who had been usurped and now Zetsu sought to bring her back and put her back in power, had created the White Zetzu Flowers to produce additional numbers for her army of White Zetsu. Only four of them had survived the world wide upheaval of the battle between Hagoromo and Hamura and the Jyubi.

One died not too long after due to damage.

One died 120 years ago due to the breaching of the hideout it was stored in by pesky human scum.

The other two had been dormant until Zetsu decided to experiment with his cloning ability, when one of the flowers was pulled out of stasis to be used as the testing dummy.

It was trial-and-error, but Zetsu eventually figured out how to power the flower without requiring contained Biju chakra from the Gedo Mazo to be used as a battery to power the flower.

The process of properly merging Zetsu DNA with that of humans to create ideal shock troopers for later plans had also required Trial-And-Error to figure out how to get it right.

Eventually the creature had figured it out, naming the final product the Flower had become: the Makahana.

The masked crowd of shinobi standing before him at the moment was the group that had been handpicked to carry out this mission.

Eventually, a masked shinobi among the group of mask wearers, one that had his mask decorated with black chains that were painted onto it, stepped forward and bowed.

Zetsu smiled: "Good to see that you're here on time, Moyo-kun. **I take that there were no major obstacles that could not be avoided if you arrived in the area just last night?**"

Moyo got up and nodded: "Yes Zetsu-sama, you are correct. We encountered no major obstacles. We almost encountered a few patrols but we were able to out maneuver them."

Zetsu nodded and Tobi giggled in his childish façade: "So much blood is going to be spilt from this accursed village, it fills me with so much joy."

Tobi swapped over to his Madara voice and persona: "But even if today's plan is not the complete destruction of Konoha, don't hold back in trying to inflict as much damage as we can."

The shouts of approval that filled the air from the crowd showed just who Moyo picked for this mission.

Zetsu responded "Seems that Moyo choose to bring a rather rowdy bunch. **As long as they do their job, it doesn't matter. Prepare to attack.**"

Each of the masked shinobi quieted down and the eyeholes filled with a glowing red and black light from the dojutsu they bared.

Zetsu smirked, so much of Konoha's history had been, unknown to the village, written by his own hand.

It was founded as a way to end the Senju-Uzumaki and Uchiha Feud that had raged for milleniums, which Zetsu helped started by manipulating Indra, the founder of the Uchiha clan, into attacking his little brother Asura, the founder of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans, in a jealous rage.

The bloodiest chapters to the feud had Zetsu's handwriting in the pages before blood was drawn again, and every time the feud was close to being ended peacefully Zetsu intervened and saw the feud continued again.

But now the Senu were almost gone as well as the Uzumaki. What use did the Uchiha have now, especially when Zetsu had his own at his disposal? One of whom had been a puppet that was trained by Madara while he was still alive and fooled into believing that he had created the Zetsu, rather than had wool pulled over his eyes and modified them to better control their natural Wood Release.

And the other Uchihas who followed Zetsu, they were the genetically engineered soldiers that stood behind Zetsu.

The light that emitted from their dojutsu was that of the Sharingan.

'_Say your prayers Konoha, you shall be the sacrifice that one day sees the return of glorious Kaguya-Hime-Sama.' _Both halves of Zetsu thought in unison.

The Daybreak Plan had begun.

End Chapter

**Well first off, this is my apology for taking so long. An extra-long chapter. Now let's discuss what happened.**

**About the Kiri segment: I was trying to split the difference between Zabuza's original characterization and what it became with the more we found out about Kiri and the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura. Jinin's based on some of the old veteran portrayals he's given in fanfics, while Kushimaru is based on some of his lighter portrayals in fanfiction, with a dash of a hardened killer with a sense of honor and comradery. The war is now against the Third Mizukage who is really jacking up the Blood Mist reputation of the village. The bloodline clans are not united in rebellion against an anti-bloodline Yagura, but multiple factions of rebellions are slowly but surely uniting against a Third Mizukage who is quite clearly mad with power. I bet we can guess who is selling intelligence to the Kiri Rebels. Mei hasn't been named the leader by the time the segment takes place, but she is soon after. **

**About the initial Konoha segment: this was primarily used to show the progress made by Rin and Obito over the 7 year time skip that was made. I couldn't make my idea with the conversation at the grave match what I had in my head so I decided to leave it out. The end of this segment also marks Naruto and Hinata actual character debut rather than just being infants. Rin's thoughts about Neji are similar to my own in regards to pre- having his ass kicked by Naruto at the third phase of the Chunin Exams. And honestly, it seems that quite a few people and writers agree with me.**

**About Moyo's segment: Yes, this is the same character Mikoto talked about back in chapter 3 and in the Akatsuki meeting in chapter 4. When I originally planned out and created Moyo, he and his Makayu clan were meant to be cannon fodder used to drive the story forward but brainstorming ideas led me to rethink how to use them. The creature he encountered in his flashback is a reference to another work of fiction, I don't think that any of its overall species would have a type in canon that would resemble the specimen he encountered but the traits I described would definitely point it out as a member of the monster race. Extra credit goes out to any who guess what is before I admit it in the next chapter.**

**Tsunade's segment: I won't lie, I originally planned something akin to the Tsunade Retrieval Arc to bring her into the story originally, but as I thought about it I realized that I was just retreading canon. I began to think about how things could change with everything I've done so far and as I thought about how Hisashi's actions would play into the storyline, it made me realize that he would try to get her back in Konoha. The information Hisashi got off the goon will be tying in to a plot that will be resolved in a few chapters. I made a sacrifice for this work: I learned Poker to better illustrate that poker match scene, or at least know what I was talking about with the hands.**

**The Akatsuki segment: Originally I wanted to do segments where each member was scouted and recruited by Zetsu, but I realized that I would be more or less retreading canon. The argument Sasori gives for not attacking Suna to nab Gaara and Shukaku is one I came up with for why wouldn't they attempt to get them in the joint assault, though I decided later that Pain probably would give him a similar mandate to Kakuzu, use his own discretion to figure out whether or not to go for Gaara. Yes Pakura is still alive as she was never sacrificed to appease an anti-bloodline Kiri. Though on a related note, I bet we can guess who the associate from Kiri is supposed to be. Hehehehe. Yes, I am building towards a much larger Akatsuki overall. The Daybreak plan is the attack that Zetsu had mentioned to Nanashi in that segment of the previous chapter. I know Nanashi is a bit of a mystery, but he will have his clan identified soon. The bit with the countdown clock is supposed to be a reference to 24 with its scene cuts to commercials that are the clock counting down with the loud beeping. It's not exactly the same thing but it is close enough and that is the intended reference. **

**Zetsu Segment: this segment was for nothing but setting the stage for the next chapter and revealing who the Makayu clan's creator is. The whole idea behind the clan was Zetsu's cloning ability, then taken a step further with "Huh, that is cool and all but what if he actually just experimented and expanded that ability to create full humans mixed with Zetsu DNA rather than just decoy dummies?" hence the idea for the Makahana, something similar to the White Zetsu Flower, but devoted to the development of the hybrids. And then the final reveal: all the Makayu have their DNA based on the Uchiha, giving them the Sharingan.**

**The next chapter shouldn't take quite as long, it was part of my original material before I had to scrap some of my material and replace it with newer stuff. Just needs some editing. I don't think it will be quite as long as this one but we never know. **

**Leave a review telling me what you thought about this chapter.**

**I finished writing this chapter at 11:13am on 3/24/2020. I hope to have it fully edited and uploaded by 12:30pm, which is when my online college class that requires online live attendance starts.**

**I will try to keep writing through the COVID-19 outbreak to keep my readers entertained. Though if I'm being honest, I don't know if y'all actually like my writing because I don't think I'm that good of a writer.**

**Change log 4/21/2020 at 3:00 pm: Not much to say. Added in a bit of dialogue in Shisui's section between him and Obito that got cut in going from my notes to the actual chapter that was mainly to foreshadow something coming up that I have planned.**

**Change log (5/21/2020): fixed some errors and added to Moyo's section to set up Mai and Kudo, as well as set up Kudo's backstory and abilities.**

**Anyways, Until Next Time:**

**SEE YA LATER!**


	8. Chaos at Daybreak

Seals of Fate

**Welcome back to the Seals of Fate. Not much to say other than the date this was started. **

**This chapter was started on Thursday 10/31/19. **

**But due to earlier chapters having to be rewritten, as well as general dissatisfaction with the original version, this chapter had to be rewritten. The process began 3/25/2020.**

**Shout outs to Kingkobra41 who had left a review on the previous chapter answering what creature I was describing attacking Moyo in his pseudo flashback. **

**Yes, he was right, it was meant to be a Creature of Grimm from RWBY. **

**I also reached 101 favorites, 153 followers, and 27 reviews on this Fic during the re-write. I have to say I never thought I would have gotten this far. I thought Seals of Fate would just sit and no one would notice it for months, and when people noticed it and actually liked it, I never thought I would have ever gotten this far. I have an expectation for everything I do to kind of fade into the background in the face of other stuff and I thought I wasn't a good writer. But you guys have proven and reassured me that I'm better than I think I am. I'm not entirely convinced of it but I am starting to rethink my opinion of myself.**

**I've been meaning to mention this for a while now, but a lot of the fights I have written have been short and efficient. It cause of an assessment made by FlamexFullmetal in her story **_**Underneath the Underneath**_** that I have to agree with. If you can stand some Mary Sue in your fanfiction then go ahead and read it. It is alright but it is currently on hiatus alongside her other story **_**Second Chances**_** due to a general dissatisfaction with the quality she pumped out in order to make self-made deadlines. A problem that I am starting to realize and correct.**

**I had to take time off during the rewrite to write a term paper that was due on April 14****th**** and was basically going to be the final for the class.**

**I apologize for the month long wait. Seals of Fate will now work on a month long update cycle at the least. There will notice if something happens and disrupts that. I apologize but I need to do this. Especially for when the really heavy chapters start rolling in.**

**The rewrite was finished at 4/22/2020 at 11:19 pm. I started grammar checking and then moved on to my rewrite notes. It will be posted tomorrow whenever I get to it.**

**Oh well, back to this story that I doubt anyone will ever read because why would they? Though I will admit some have begun to show me that my doubts are not entirely warranted. **

Chapter 8

Chaos at Daybreak

To the denizens of the Hidden Leaf, today started like any other average day. The sun rose in the morning, there was a slight cloud cover, and there appeared to be a chance of rain later in the day.

They were mostly unaware of the threat slinking in, preparing to strike. And even worse, unaware of the traitor among them who had been bought off with promises of power.

To those who were striking against it, some were thrilled at the prospect of spilling blood, others were simply prepared to fulfil their duty to the Creator-sama.

But among those who were attacking the Great Village, Moyo's hopes were against the side he ostensibly served: _'I have taken every scenario into consideration, this strike force could potentially complete this mission with minimal casualties on our side with the right strategy and leadership. _

_Unfortunately for Zetsu, he had a revolutionary who plotted against them at the helm for his hybrid forces, who made sure that every one of the hybrids who truly followed Zetsu was here, here to die. I have shuffled each one into a position where they could potentially complete the mission's objectives but due to either personality issues or something similar, will ultimately fail and be killed or be wounded enough for me to make it look as though it were a matter of time. _

_I calculate that Konoha will suffer some losses regrettably and that Zetsu's true followers will be able to accomplish some of the mission's goals, but the shinobi of this village will deal with most of these traitors. I hope to induce a pyrrhic victory for Zetsu, with the evidence appearing to indicate that the only reason we were able to do as well as we did was because of my leadership. That will assure the position I was promised and will place me in the perfect position to begin the making for my rebellion._

_Come now Konoha. Do not fail me.'_

Two forces were about to collide and blood would be spilt.

_**Uchiha District**_

Two Uchihas stood guard at the entrance to the clan's district.

One of them spoke: "Man I wish something exciting would happen."

The other spoke: "Careful, you know what they say about tempting fate."

The other responded: "Anyone who actually believes that whole fate nonsense is a complete idiot."

His friend voiced an agreement before he nudged him: "Look alive. We got someone coming."

A cloaked figure wearing a yellow mask decorated with a black flame pattern on it approached them.

The taller of the Uchihas spoke: "We need to see your identification."

The masked figure chuckled: "I'm afraid I don't have any. Not that it matters because you won't be amongst the living much longer. Possessing Gaze!"

The two Uchihas noticed Sharigans in the eyeholes of the man's mask which shifted to a pattern they had never seen in a Sharingan before.

However before they could respond, the shorter of the two Uchihas drew a kunai and stabbed his friend in the gut. When the man looked into his backstabber's eyes he saw a look of pure horror, almost as if he hadn't done it of his own free will. Then the man blacked out. Taken by the Shinigami.

More cloaked masked figures showed up. The first one spoke: "Moyo-sama and Zetsu-sama have given us our orders, everyone knows what to do. Daybreak begins now."

All nodded and began to carry out their tasks.

Xxx

_**Hyuga Compound**_

_**Concurrently with the beginning of Daybreak**_

Hyuga Hizashi sat in contemplation.

A few weeks ago, a couple of letters arrived via Tsunade-sama's Slugs carrying distinct letters to both Hiashi and Hitomi, with the characters on the seal marking the sender as someone Hizashi knew all too well: Kageyami Hisashi.

He remembered his brother and his wife going pale at the contents the letter shared. When he asked what was so horrible, they answered that Hisashi had discovered an operation in the Land of Tea under order from Hyuga Hideki, Hiashi and Hizashi's father. The operation was testing viability for a derivative of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal to be applied to subjects other than Hyugas.

Hizashi had never felt such shame at his father before, the implications that he had realized became unfortunately true with the additional contents of the letters. Hisashi had sent evidence and had begun tracking additional operations that had been ratted on by the thug who had been captured by Hisashi's man in the Land of Tea.

But one was all it took to prove that Hideki was guilty. Hiashi ordered their father arrested immediately.

Hizashi hoped that this would begin much needed change and see an old promise fulfilled.

Hizashi thoughts turned to how he met the enigmatic spymaster and the promise in question. _It would have been about 5 years before the Kyubi attack. _

_Konoha was experiencing a notable organized crime wave but no one could quite figure out who was pulling the strings. _

_However a tip had led them to a warehouse for the upstarts who thought they could outsmart shinobi forever. Most of Hizashi's group stayed outside while he went ahead._

_When he entered he found the sight horrifying. Blood and gore was everywhere. Men, women, and children were tied up and he could figure out what was going on. They had a look of relief at whatever had happened and fear at the same time. Like being saved by a monster. Their relief became much more apparent when they saw Hizashi._

_Other illegal materials and stolen items were strewn about as well._

_He took a look at the corpses and saw that each one bore the tattoo that had been identified as the mark of those who were part of this syndicate. Each one was a criminal and not one corpse didn't have the mark on it._

_But then screams shook him back to reality and saw him rush to their source: a man with a visible tattoo being tortured by a tall man wearing what appeared to be a modified black business suit._

_The Branch house Hyuga realized with shock that the man torturing the criminal was not using weapons to do so even though he clearly had them on his person._

_No, it appeared that he was using tendrils that were forming both from his own shadows and the shadows around him. Was he a Nara? No he couldn't be. No Nara looked like that and even the most vicious of the lazy shadow users never acted like this. Hizashi also noticed that the shadow tendrils the man was using didn't move nor look at all like a Nara's Shadow Jutsu. The tendrils were acting like tentacles or just appendages of their master._

_Then the man spoke: "So, you're telling me that you work for Gato's more illicit operations and he was looking to expand here and was looking to begin getting techniques and knowledge together to try to outsmart and kill Shinobi. Am I correct?" the criminal nodded._

_The shadow user's entire presence changed: "Well that is just peachy. I can't let you remember what you saw, so I either rip the memories out or I'll have to hit you hard enough to induce a concussion and major brain damage that will cause you to be labeled a mad man and delusional if you remember and tell them what you saw. Which do you think I should do, Hyuga-san?"_

_Hizashi felt his heart seize when he heard that. If this shadow user knew he was here, then perhaps those secret keeping ideas were pointed at the Hyuga as well. _

_The man turned around faced Hizashi, eyes glowing almost but not from a dojutsu, and he spoke: "I asked you to answer a question. What do you think I should do to protect my secret? Your clan is no stranger to draconian measures to protect both the Byakugan and the Gentle Fist." The man spoke as he intensified his gaze and unleashed something that felt like a pulse of Killing Intent and instantly Hizashi began to feel the numerous memories filled with guilt begin to resurface and could almost feel the weight of them crawling all over._

_Hizashi eventually responded: "I think that only enough to protect the secret should be done. Nothing that would be complete overkill or cruel mercy, only enough to ensure its continued protection and that those who have learned it will not pass it on."_

_The man continued his stare, almost as if he was trying to stare through the Hyuga's soul. Eventually he began smiling and the effect on Hizashi ended and the shadow user responded: "I could not have said it better, nor could I agree more." He quickly turned to the criminal and placed his hands to the man's temples and both went still. A moment later, movement resumed with the shadow user standing up while the tortured criminal fell unconscious from whatever the man had done._

_The shadow user spoke softly: "I would appreciate it greatly if you keep what you have seen here a secret. If you do so, and I will know if the knowledge gets out cause of you blabbing, I will be willing to offer you a deal. Now my name is of no concern at the moment until it comes time to make the bargain, I apologize for the impoliteness but I have to do so. What is your name, Hyuga-san?" _

_Hizashi spoke: "Hyuga Hizashi."_

_The shadow user smirked: "The younger son of the previous clan head, and the brother of the current clan head. I knew you were a Branch House Hyuga but I didn't expect to meet you here. Now I must go. If you hold true to the agreement then we shall meet again on friendlier terms, but if you don't then it will be far less friendly terms than right now." The unspoken threat was clear. _

_The man walked past him into the shadows. Hizashi tried to grab him, but the shadow user was no longer there, he used his Byakugan and found nothing resembling the man he encountered. It was almost as if he had vanished into the shadows, quite literally. _

_Hizashi said nothing to anyone, questioning why he would work to hold the secret of a stranger that he didn't even know the name of. _

_Then night came and Hizashi found himself in his quarters alone, his wife was currently out on her own duties._

_Then a voice spoke: "I'm impressed, I have to admit that I thought you would rat on me." _

_Hizashi turned and saw the shadow user from earlier standing in the room with a cup of tea in his hand while holding out another one to Hizashi. Hizashi took it._

_The man smiled: "Let's talk business. First off, my name is Kageyami Hisashi."_

_Hizashi nodded: "It is a pleasure to meet you Hisashi-san."_

_Hisashi nodded: "And you as well, Hizashi-san. Now on to the second thing, my offer. I want you to serve as my eyes and ears within the Hyuga Branch House, I already have a man within the Main House. You would feed me information about anything that could be of importance to me and if I need something carried out you will work to see it done."_

_Hizashi glared: "You would have me betray my family."_

_Hisashi remained stone faced: "No I wouldn't. I would never ask you to do something. I only ask those who understand the vital truth that no one can survive alone in this world. Something I know you understand. The villages exist because Hashirama and Madara, deep down, realized it extended to their clans and decided to leave behind the warfare of their time to found Konoha to help each other survive in coexistence. I would ask you to report to me anything suspicious that may mean someone planning with ill-intentions. I would see to it that it is torn out before it snowballs into a much bigger problem. In return, I will use my connections to help begin moving things so that the Hyuga Main House/ Branch House system is abolished and the Caged Bird Cursed Seal is done away with, either entirely or replaced with something better. Do we have a deal?" he ended by offering his hand._

_Hizashi nodded after some contemplation: "We do." Sealing it with a handshake._

For the most part Hizashi had only reported what he had heard to the enigmatic spymaster. He had only been asked to personally help set something up once and it had been about two months after the Kyubi attack. He was left wondering what the spymaster was seeking to help but he did as he was told, Hizashi and the Main House Member that Hisashi had employed allowed something to build until it had to be dealt with immediately the hour Hitomi-sama had gone into labor, drawing Hiashi away from the delivery room.

Observing Hiashi's daughter, Hinata, began to yield answers. The girl had absurd chakra reserves and grew far faster than any one he had ever seen. Except for one Uzumaki Kushina and her son Uzumaki Naruto.

Kushina's Jinchuriki status had never been officially released but Hizashi had encountered a few of the known ones and was shocked when he saw the similarities between their Chakra networks and Kushina's. It was just a matter of sliding the pieces in place.

Hizashi had concluded that Naruto and Hinata both were Jinchurikis as well due to the unnaturally high growth rate to their reserves. Unlike with Kushina and other Jinchurikis he had fought and survived, their seals were not visible to Byakugan, leading him to assume that their seals' matrix had anti-Byakugan measures built in.

He assumed that Naruto held the Kyubi like Kushina presumably did, but which Biju did Hinata hold?

Hizashi felt pity and sympathy for both children, they were cursed with a seal much like the Branch House. One that could mean their end if something went wrong. But unlike the Branch House, if something went wrong and they were exposed, they would be unable to have normal lives. Though he assumed that they did not know what they carried at the moment. Perhaps that was something that Hitomi and Naruto's caretakers were waiting on telling to them.

Before his thoughts could go any further, screams sounded and fires exploded.

Memories from war filled his mind and he knew what was happening: Konoha was under Attack.

Xxx

_**Streets of Konoha**_

Obito yawned as he walked down the street. Rin had a shift at the hospital today and Kakashi had been asked to do a lecture at the academy today. Left him to wander around with no mission today and kick himself for not going through with something.

Kakashi agreed when he was told it would be given to the class Naruto was part of and he had as much leeway as he wanted to teach the kids something he viewed as important for new genin.

Though speaking of Kakashi, Shisui and Obito decided to let him in on the masked man Shisui encountered alongside a few others including Rin. Everyone each had their own opinions and input but Kakashi pointed out something that left impressions: _"So we found a possible culprit?" Kakashi said. Rin looked at him confused "A culprit to what?" Kakashi answered: "To the Kyubi attack. Because Minato-sensei said that a rogue Uchiha broke and grabbed Kushina-sensei, unleashed Kyubi from her, and then placed the Biju under his control before sending the Fox on a rampage." Everyone went silent and thought until horror dawned on them that Kakashi was right. Obito just commented "Shisui, I think you might have stumbled on something much bigger than we thought." Shisui only nodded._

Obito and Rin had already been noticing some odd things in Kakashi's behavior that really became noticeable around the anniversary of the attack. Obito had the sneaking suspicion that Kakashi had developed a desire for vengeance against the perpetrator of the Kyubi attack for everything that had happened that night. But that conversation confirmed it and with what they knew about this masked man's abilities, he could have definitely broken in and carried out the assault.

The couple agreed with their teammate that justice needed to be given to those who lost their lives because of the tragedy, but both feared what would happen if Kakashi tried to take it into his own hands.

But Obito couldn't shake a feeling of dread that was clinging to him like a blanket.

The school day should be over soon and he should be home with the little brats soon. As he walked something began screaming danger and then the sounds of people screaming, fires burning, and explosives detonating filled the air.

Obito looked around and knew they were under attack, but by who was the question. Then his instincts began screaming danger.

Obito jumped around in time to see a masked man armed with a kunai attempting to run the Uchiha through. Obito quickly activated his sharingan and grabbed the kunai by the handle before knocking the assailant to the ground. He got a better look at his attacker now, a red mask with black flames decals on it covering his face with short black hair on his head, before he took in a sudden breath after getting a look behind his eyeholes: '_He's got the sharingan._'

His attacker had the faint red glow of the Sharingan in his eyes. He was an Uchiha! Had to be! Obito ran through his mind at why would an Uchiha attack him, he found one distinct answer. One he didn't like.

He went to grab the man and drag him into the Kamui world to prevent collateral damage. He hoped there weren't any others but he would find out soon enough. Before he could begin dragging his opponent into the kamui world, his opponent regained his bearings and punched Obito in the stomach before he had the chance to move back.

'_Damn, I was close but not close enough. Wait a second. That strike looked a little panicked, like he knew what was coming and was rushing to avoid it. There is no way he could have known about._' Obito thought as he regained his bearings.

The fight began with both combatants making the same hand seals before screaming the same attack: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu." A duel of fireballs began with neither combatant willing to give an inch. The resulting stalemate was broken when Obito quickly activated his mangekyo and gathered enough chakra to create a spark of the Amaterasu black flames to alter this fight into his favor, planning to step down to his standard Sharingan once his attack was finished. Once the charge was gathered, he evenly uttered: "Amaterasu." And black flames began to consume the colliding fireballs, starting from a small point on his side of the clash and spreading out over the dueling fireballs and consuming them before making its way to the masked assassin.

The assailant quickly ended his attack once he noticed the black flames spreading and making its way towards him through his fireball, jumping back before the black fire could make contact with him. Once the clash had ended, Obito used his Mangekyo to extinguish the black flames he had created and stepped his Sharingan down to its base form. As the assailant landed, Obito rushed him as fast as he could for a taijutsu clash. But as he made eye contact, the masked one's eyes shifted into Mangekyos and uttered: "Possessing Gaze." Obito could feel his body try to disobey his commands before he began to channel chakra to disrupt what he believed was a genjutsu.

Unknowingly, he channeled chakra to his eyes and shifted his eyes back to the Eternal Mangekyo, disrupting the attempted mind control and startling the man. Obito quickly focused on him and said the words of his attack: "TSUKUYOMI!" the world went red and black as the masked assassin found himself in a ghastly nether realm that formed around them with Obito's Kamui symbol covering the moon that formed in the hellish red sky.

Obito began speaking: "You almost had me, if I hadn't activated my Mangekyo I would have succumbed to whatever that jutsu was. Now judging by your look I guess you already know where you are right now. In this world I rule all, even time, even a second in here is far different from what is one in the real world. For 36 hours, you will experience the full pain of crows devouring you like a corpse left out to them each second, from the ravenous murder pulling the skin and meat from your bones to the pieces being digested in their stomachs. Only when the crows have fully picked you clean and finished digesting you will the second end and the next begin. Let's begin."

As Obito commanded, crows descended upon the cross that the masked man had crucified to, while the man began counting mentally to gauge how skilled his opponent was with the illusion. Once the second ended the man was screaming but his thoughts were focused: '_He is able to make a second last for an hour and a half. He's better than most of my brothers are at maintaining the second as long as possible rather than maintaining the overall duration of time that the illusion encompasses. At this rate I will crack before he exhausts the duration of his illusion. Hopefully my mind will shut down at the end so they cannot gain anything from it. Forgive me Zetsu-sama, I have failed you in life but I won't in death. I'll hold him here to try and give my partner a shot at killing our target while he is distracted torturing me to death_'

The torture began once more. But Obito noticed the change in posture and realized something was wrong and stopped the second and spoke: "Wait a second, you almost look as though you want me to stay here the full length of the illusion. Why? That would mean you either dying from the mental strain or…"

Obito stopped and his eyes went wide as his attacker knew he had been found out: "Unless you wanted me to be stuck for the full 3 seconds that pass in the real world regardless because you have accomplices!"

Obito quickly dispelled the illusion, the experience from the torture leaving his opponent on the ground and knocked out while Obito narrowly avoided the thrown Kunai that was aimed at skewering his throat.

Obito smirked: "Heh, you missed me. Thank goodness I realized he was acting funny."

The new assailant chuckled: "While it is a shame that you were able to avoid that kunai, think about what else was in that direction."

Obito looked over and saw the previous assailant's knocked out body with the thrown kunai through his throat.

Obito shrugged: "Ehh, I was going to take him over to T&I to find out what he knows after your invasion is dealt with. Guess I'll have to settle for you instead."

The masked assailant spoke: "I would like to see you try. After all can you really afford to take the time to do that? We came here to exterminate the Uchiha clan or at least put them as close to extinct as possible. We came to kill the Hokage. We came to cull multiple problematic clans and to deal as much damage as we could. And we came to kidnap and extract the Biju from the filthy beasts that their trapped in."

Obito's mind raced to a halt: "No. I won't let you take them. You're right, I don't have time to waste trying to take you alive."

The masked man smiled: "It doesn't matter. I won't allow you to leave alive."

Obito chuckled darkly: "We'll see." Before rushing at his opponent.

The masked man rushed to engage the Uchiha in Taijutsu, believing that was Obito's intentions based on his movements.

He realized too late that it was feint.

He realized it when blood began running down Obito's cheek from his eye and the Uchiha muttered: "Amaterasu."

The masked man knew there was no way out, he was too close and the flames would ignite him before he could replace with anything.

Like a true warrior meeting their end, he did not scream in frustration nor anger. Only pain as the black flames consumed him.

Obito stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

He began thinking: _'If the others who came with them had the same abilities then the next few hours are going to be long. I can sense all kind of chakra being thrown around. I can't tell where Rin is but chakra is being thrown around at the outskirts. I should probably start with whatever skirmishes are nearby and then move to see what is happening over there if it is still going when I get there. Dammit, if we survive this then I'm going to ask it.'_

Obito began moving, ready to protect Konoha. Hoping that he wouldn't fail those he had sworn to protect.

And hoping that this wasn't the first strike of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Xxx

_**Konoha Prison**_

Tobi skillfully slinked through the halls of Konoha's maximum security lockup, avoiding the guards as best as he could.

Zetsu had advised the masked man to avoid contact with guards, including killing and disposing of the bodies. Claiming that it would alert them to the presence that infiltrated the prison during the attack and would have them notice the missing prisoner sooner than anticipated.

There was logic there, besides Tobi believed that most of the weaklings here weren't even worth killing.

So he slinked through the halls and phased through walls to avoid confrontation until he reached the cell number he was told the target would be in.

'_This is the one. Kamui.' _He thought as he began phasing through the door.

Once he was through, he saw the mission target sitting at the far end of the cell, with his eyes closed and seemingly unaware of his visitor

Tobi opened his mouth and spoke in his normal voice: "Hello again Danzo. How long has it been since we last saw each other? It has to have been at least 8, almost 9 years, since we sat down and discussed a certain point of interest."

Danzo opened his good eye and while keeping his destroyed eye closed, lacking the bandaging to conceal the eye.

Danzo eventually responded "I thought Minato had killed you considering we never saw anything of you again, nor did we find any trace of you. Nine years does sounds about right as this point, Tobi. I must admit it has been hard to tell how long it has been since I was imprisoned. I was imprisoned only two weeks after the Kyubi went on that massive rampage after being freed, which I assume was you're doing and if it was I wish I hadn't gave you the information I did. You didn't reappear to deliver on the immediate part of my half of the bargain but your associates did carry out the other part of the bargain as we agreed, giving me an opportunity to try to pin the disaster on the Uchiha and pave the way for their extermination."

Tobi snorted: "He almost got me. Pure adrenaline and the will and desire to see my plans come to fruition saw me through enough to escape. I pretty much collapsed from a number of things the moment I made it to my associate at the rendezvous point. Zetsu claims I was suffering from major brain damage, along with severe damage to the entirety of my remaining natural body. It took me months to fully recover, and even then I'm still suffering from some of the side effects of the bout. Zetsu informed me once I had recovered my information retention that he had gone ahead and carried out the information leak to the right sources for you so that we could repay your services.

I would have loved to see how you would have had the Uchiha exterminated, I'm positive it would have been a gloriously gory show, but you fucked that up when you tried to reach for the Uzumaki child through Kumo and had a ROOT nearby without a contingency for if the boy's caretakers had managed to track the team down and if someone managed to get in and kill the agent. You even messed up a long term plan of mine by having the previous Nibi Jinchuriki brought in for Kumo's capture mission.

We confirmed that Konoha captured her and transferred the Cat to a new host a few months later, but we managed to figure out who had been made the new jinchuriki thanks to a disgruntled Shinobi who was transferring into an academy teacher role who knew the exact small details that were needed for us to piece the puzzle together. But I do have some good news for you right now concerning the Uchiha: associates of mine are carrying out a mission that one of the objectives to is either the complete or near complete extermination of the clan."

The last sentence brought a smile to the disgraced elder's face: "Good. The threat of that clan will finally be removed."

Tobi nodded: "Yes the Uchiha will burn. But I have an offer for you, freedom with a few conditions. Have you told anyone of our dealings?"

Danzo shook his head: "No."

Tobi responded: "Good, means I don't have to drop some bodies to rebury the information. Did they take away that arm Orochimaru gave you?"

Danzo smiled and pulled open the shirt he had been wearing to reveal the bandaged arm that lied with in, with wooden braces covering it like shackles. Along both the bandages and the wooden braces were kanjis for some kind of seal array. "No. The perception filtering Genjutsu seals held and they never even noticed it as long as I did nothing to draw attention to it. They never sealed my chakra on the arm so I still have molding capabilities in it. I was saving it for when it would be needed."

Tobi smiled under his mask: "Good. Then off we go."

Tobi grabbed the man and began sucking them into the pocket dimension before jumping again and appearing in a small room in a hideout.

Tobi spoke: "I have things to do still so I will be leaving you here. Please stay in this room till I return."

Danzo nodded: "Of course. As you wish Tobi."

Tobi triggered Kamui once more and began making his way back to the village.

Tobi had left out where he had sent Danzo and why. But even then it would have already been too late.

A few flowers in the room had already bloomed and began pumping out large quantities of their pollen that served as a sleeping agent.

Xxx

Kakashi had arrived exactly on time for the kids' class, having decided to walk Naruto and Hinata to the academy that day to get a look at the kids in the class.

He had to admit, he wasn't impressed with the majority of them.

The only ones who struck him as being truly able to become shinobi were Naruto and Hinata, the clan heirs that made up the majority of the class he figured had what it took to pass both the academy and the genin exam: Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, Yamanaka Ino, and Kurama Yakumo; Sakura Haruno: a civilian who seemed to have some potential if she focused on her training more than chasing after Uchiha Sasuke who was also part of the class; and a strange pale boy named Sai who was an orphan who entered the academy. Kakashi had heard somethings about Sai through Tenzo and what he heard painted a grim picture: Sai had been an orphan from the Kyubi attack that Danzo attempted to make one of his ROOTs, before the elder had been arrested for his crimes. Sai had been taken in by a fellow ROOT named Shin, who Kakashi had personally met and found to be interesting. It seemed that Danzo's attempts to destroy the boy's personality had failed and he slid by with it merely being repressed.

All together that was 11 students who he believed could make the cut. _'Maybe Hokage-sama could alter the curriculum to weed out the wasted potential resources before it actually became a waste of resources.'_ Kakashi wondered what possessed Hiruzen-sama to lower the standards this much, even if they weren't in war time where genin were needed to be highly prepared straight out of the academy, the starting curriculum shouldn't be this pathetic.

A wicked idea entered his head: '_Perhaps I could be the start of the change I want to bring about. I don't have time to interrogate teachers about the curriculum but I was told by the headmaster that I was allowed to talk about and teach anything I wanted._' The Copy Nin thought as he sat through the teacher's lecture to the students.

His attention was drawn to the two teacher's assistants, a pair of chunin named Iruka and Mizuki.

Kakashi had met Iruka before. A visit to the Hokage when the scarred chunin requested a transfer to the academy. Kakashi got a good read off the kid, seemed like he would do well there.

However something rubbed him wrong about Mizuki. He seemed average and nice enough but there was something that was wrong with him. Like everything he projected was a mask to conceal what lurked beneath the surface.

The Copy Nin shook it off and returned to his thoughts about what he would speak on and show the students.

Eventually it came time for the class he was asked to help teach, but the Copy Nin couldn't shake the feeling he was being silently and carefully watched alongside a few others. As it came time for his lecture, he led the kids outside to start leading them to a small training ground within the village, but he noticed out of the corner of his eye a masked man carrying a kunai poised to slit the throat of the kid at the back of the group.

Kakashi blurred through hand seals before turning his body towards the newly noticed aggressor and thrusting his opened hand containing a Chidori towards him: "Chidori Sharp Spear!" The massive blade of lightning extended off the Chidori and the kids were confused as was the class's T.A.s Iruka and Mizuki. Mizuki seemed to be scared of something however.

However the T.A.s were alarmed at the wet squelch sound of a human body being torn apart. The two assistants and their students turned back to see a man in a pale green mask with black flames on it and a cloak holding a kunai mere inches away from Sasuke's throat, before Kakashi dispelled the blade and the man collapsed to the ground.

"Tsk, tsk, Kakashi. I wasn't expecting you to catch and kill my brother so unceremoniously. Unfortunately he was only here to kill both the Uchiha brat and the Kurama girl and kidnap the two high priority targets, while I was here to kill you to both eliminate a threat to my master's ambition and to avenge my brother who you killed to gain that sharingan under your headband. I think you will have more trouble with me." A new voice spoke.

Kakashi found the source of the voice, another man dressed exactly like the one he had just killed, with a mask colored a slightly different shade of green. '_His brother was the one who I got my sharingan from? Now I see it, both have shaingans hidden behind their masks under the shadows they create at the eyeholes. I'd recognize that dim glow anywhere. They were here to kidnap two targets from this academy class. Everyone here is from a major Konoha Clan except Sai and Sakura. Kidnapping them and holding them for ransom or sell them to other villages or organizations for their bloodlines. But he said that he was after two in particular. Naruto and Hinata have to be the targets. He or whoever sent him has to know they're jinchurikis. They're after their Biju._' He thought as he removed the part of his headband covering his Sharingan.

As Kakashi rushed the new combatant, the assassin began weaving hand seals that Kakashi knew all too well, and countered with the same Jutsu to protect the children rather than dodging it: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Kakashi put as much chakra as he could spare into over powering the assailant. Hoping that it would be enough.

Eventually the masked man gave up and Kakashi's attack advanced forward. The masked man was able to get out of the way in time.

Kakashi decided to speak: "If I'm right about my speculation about who you're after, how do you know they're here?"

The man chuckled: "Oh we know that they are here. One we have known about since the incident that put him on my master's priority list, while the other he couldn't find until a certain Academy Teacher's Assistant started blabbing about things that made it easy to find her. Isn't that right Mizuki?"

Everyone went silent and wide eyed and stared at the white haired chunin who stood almost proudly and smiled viciously.

Kakashi created another Chidori but this time began altering the flow to begin wrapping the voltage around himself to create his Lightning Cloak: "Both of you are threats to the village. Neither one will be leaving here unless as a corpse or a prisoner." He declared with Killing Intent.

Mizuki went to say something, but Kakashi pulled out a kunai and charged it with Lightning Chakra and threw it at the traitor, aimed at his leg. It connected and pierced all the way through the man's leg. Kakashi rushed over and knocked him out with a punch to the face.

Kakashi spoke: "You've done enough damage by running your mouth traitor. By doing this you have not only broken the rules but abandoned your comrades as well and put people I care about in jeopardy. Any mercy I may have had for you has been taken away." After that sentence to the unconscious traitor, Kakashi turned his gaze to the masked man: "I hope you have made peace with the fact that you will not be leaving here alive."

The masked man seemed amused by that sentiment: "Even if I am to fall by your hand, I would still use my dying moments serving my master's purpose." The man almost seemed to not care if he lived or died.

Kakashi positioned himself between the man and the class, easily able to protect the students from the man and keep him away from Naruto and Hinata while also able to go on the offensive.

'_I need to end this quickly. I don't know if there are more of these assassins in hiding waiting to strike and I don't know if there are more on the way. I need a clear shot at ending this as quickly as possible, I have an idea but I need something to cover it up.' _The Copy Ninja thought as he quickly made hand seals and hoped his opponent would react as he wanted.

The masked man looked inquisitively at his opponent wondering what he was waiting for. Then Kakashi began rapidly forming hand seals which the masked assassin's Sharingan predicted would form the sequence for Great Fireball Jutsu: _'I have to cancel it, if I don't the trap me and Farv planned to use will be compromised.' _The man thought as he formed hand seals and prepared his counter.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Kakashi screamed as breathed out the massive fireball.

"Water Release: Violent Water Wave!" the masked man screamed as he spat out water and shaped it into a wave and sent it at his opponent's fireball.

The two clashed and cancelled each other out, creating a massive steam cover.

The man stayed where he was, wondering what Hatake's next move would be.

He didn't have to wait long, as Kakashi charged through the wall of steam with a Chidori in his hand.

The masked assassin used his Sharingan to predict Kakashi's path and used a leg sweep to knock the Copy Nin of his feet and swiftly took a kunai and stabbed it into the Kakashi's heart. "I win, Kakashi."

The Copy Nin almost smiled: "You might be thinking that but I assure you it is not you who has won." Before bursting into electricity and shocking the masked assassin. _'WHEN DID HE HAVE TIME TO CREATE A LIGHTNING CLONE?! HE… he must have made it while my vision was obscured by his fireball and the steam cover. DAMMIT! He outplayed me.'_

The real Kakashi rushed forward and impaled the electrified assassin on his Chidori, destroying the man's heart. "It's over. I have won."

The masked man laughed bitterly while coughing: "Y-you have o-only kil-killed me. I-I never said anything about being the only o-one sent to kill you. Karv, my brother y-you killed to ha-have your precious Sharingan will be a-avenged." Before placing both his hand around Kakashi's arm and gripping tightly. Then he passed, refusing to let go after dying.

Kakashi tried to pull free but the corpse's grip would not release. Then he heard the sounds of someone rushing him and saw the third assassin.

The corpse would not release its grip so Kakashi did the only thing he could do and instead of pulling his arm out to avoid the attack, he flung the corpse around to block the masked assassin's attack.

Kakashi heard a wet stabbing noise but looked up and saw no blade in the body of the assassin clutching his arm. He looked over at the man who had attempted to kill him and saw the source of the noise.

A small tanto was stabbed through the masked man's chest, killing him instantly. Kakashi wondered who had killed his opponent while he was distracted, only for the deceased man to fall over when the blade was pulled out, revealing a slightly battle damaged Shisui who helped remove the corpse's hands from Kakashi's arm before wiping the blood off his tanto.

Kakashi spoke: "Thanks for the help Shisui, I was in a bit of tight situation right there. Looks like owe you one. Anyways, what are you doing here?"

Shisui responded: "Mikoto-sama sent me to find Sasuke and make sure he's alright. I would take him back to her but the Clan's been ambushed. I know the ANBUs are scrambling as every major Clan in the Village are being attacked, I also heard that Hokage-sama was attacked as well, but the Uchiha are being hit especially hard. I need to find Itachi, Obito, and Fugaku; I trust I can leave Sasuke with you?"

The Copy Nin nodded. "Yeah, I'll look after him. Can you do me a favor, we had a traitor in the academy who leaked information that helped these guys figure out some classified secrets, which was why they sent three assassins here. I need you take Mizuki to the T&I holding facility till we can sort this mess out and find out what exactly he said and to who."

Shisui nodded: "Yeah I can take him there, I was heading that way anyways. Hey if I see Rin or Obito, I'll tell them that Naruto's okay and he's with you."

Kakashi did his eye-smile: "Thanks, I would appreciate that. But also mention that both projects are alright."

"No problem, I'll be back for Sasuke as soon as I can." Was all the Teleporter before grabbing the bound up traitor and making a single hand sign and vanishing in a blur of speed produced by the Uchiha's mastery of the Body Flicker Jutsu.

Xxx

Rin had an ordinary day at the hospital, she helped bandage up some genin who had gotten hurt in a spar, helped a mother give birth to a healthy baby girl, and began thinking about a certain rumor that she had heard about yesterday.

If she had time to think about that then she was having a pretty boring day, never mind her instincts going crazy warning her about someone watching her.

**You sense it too, Rin-chan**.

'_Yeah like something's watching me.' _

**I just realized that your instinct is correct, something is watching us, something with a quality to its chakra that I recognize from somewhere, I cannot remember where but I do know that it is ancient, perhaps even more than me and my siblings. I suggest that you leave the hospital during your next break and go to a secluded place to draw them away from potential casualties and hostages. **

'_I was already planning on that, Iso-kun. I was planning on going to the far side of Training Ground 7, where that big lake fed by that river is located.' _

**I believe that would be a good idea, you would have a large, replenishing water supply to use for Water Release Ninjutsu, and a easy to use source of mist for the Hidden Mist Jutsu that Obito taught you, in case this pursuer has a dojutsu. **

'_I hadn't thought about the Hidden Mist Jutsu or the possibility that they have a dojutsu. Maybe I could discretely create a Shadow Clone to go prepare the spot I want to use.' _

**A good plan but you have to create the clone in a spot where it couldn't be detected. **

'_How about we make three shadow clones and send them off on semi-legitimate business and once their done they go to the training grounds whichever ones survive the whole thing can begin prepping it?' _

**That sounds like a decent idea. The problem will be if he decides to continue following you or veer off to destroy the clones.**

Rin nodded in the mindscape and in the real world crossed her fingers for the Shadow Clone and a moment later three clones emerged from the smoke. The three nodded and headed off in separate directions with plans in place.

An hour later, Rin left the hospital as fast as she could using the body flicker to ensure that she made it to her destination without her stalker catching her while she moving. She sat and waited in the mist covered training ground before she began to expand her senses to find the chakra of her follower.

Once she found it, she methodically went through hand seals to ensure that the full potential of her jutsu was unleashed. It was just a slightly stronger version of a standard Water Release jutsu that most Water users learned at one point or another.

The standard sequence was just five more hand seals than the basic version, but the improved version Rin was using was an additional 5 signs to further increase the efficiency.

Finishing her sequence mere moments before her adversary began getting impatient she screamed out: "Water Release: Water Dragon Missile!" and from the lake formed a water dragon that with a roar like gesture began screeching through the air towards the target it had been given.

The infiltrator jumped out of the way just in time to begin charging Rin while another dragon charged out from the thick mist covering the lake and targeted the masked man as well. He dodged and rushed into close range, Rin began fighting and was able to land a few good strikes before her stalker stabbed a senbon into Rin's neck that would knock her into a death like state.

She turned to face him and began smiling as her eyes shut after he stabbed the throwing needle into her neck before she burst into a cloud of smoke. He stood there in disbelief that he had been tricked with a clone feint and had been played before five water dragons had emerged from the mist, all but one missing the target.

He stumbled to his feet before speaking "I wasn't expecting that move. Tell me, that wasn't the standard Water Dragon Jutsu that you opened with, was it? You tricked me into thinking it was when in reality it was a Multi-Water Dragon Jutsu you used, holding back on launching all the constructs at once as feint to trick me while you replaced with the clone in preparation for my attack. If I'm right then well played, if I'm wrong then you're far more impressive than I give you credit for."

He was right about her strategy but Rin decided to not respond and give him her location. Rin was quickly analyzing the memories from the shadow clone's brief glimpse of the man's face. He had spiky black hair, wore a pale blue mask with black flame patterns adorning it, and had sharingan eyes glowing it the small shadows that his mask created over his eyes.

That was information for later, she needed to beat him now. Keeping quiet she began running through seals to create more Water Dragons to throw at her opponent, and as the constructs formed a giant fireball approached from opponent location.

She sidestepped the fireball as quickly as she could while trying her best to not generate disturbances that would have given away her location. As she regained her composure she began concentrating to find where her Water Dragons would be aimed at, but before she could have them attack, a sudden disturbance happened behind her and an arm quickly reached around her grabbed her while another hand stabbed her in a spot meant to paralyze her. "You should know by now that in the Shinobi World, the first move we make is usually a distraction for our real attack."

"And you should have expected me to make another clone to replace with." Rin responded before the clone in the masked man's grip busted into smoke after it was stabbed. She rushed him quickly but he intercepted her and stabbed her again, starting to get very frustrated with the whole situation.

Then that Rin burst into smoke revealing it to be a shadow clone as well. The man growled in frustration: "When did you make these Shadow Clones?! The only time you made any was at the… hospital! SHIT!" he screamed in realization.

From the mists emerged multiple water clones who kept him distracted while Rin prepared her finisher. Once Rin had finished preparing it, she rushed him while the clones began grappling him and while he appeared to be blinded by frustration, carrying one of her sensei's personal creations as the coup de grace.

The masked assailant saw it coming but was unable to move due to the four Water clones holding him in place.

"Rasengan!" Rin yelled as she began jamming it into the man's chest, destroying the ribs and killing her opponent. After noting her attacker's expiration she made a single seal to dispel the mist covering the field and the five water dragon constructs she had created but didn't need to use before sitting down to rest.

But before she could, her senses warned her about something and she narrowly avoided a blow from a new masked assailant.

"Great. Another one of you guys." Rin grumbled.

A distinctly feminine voice came from the new attacker: "You managed to kill my idiot brother. He may have been stupid and prone to getting overconfident, but he was strong and knew how to tail someone yet you found him anyways. Based on how well you prepped this battlefield, I'd wager that you managed to detect him and evaded him using a solid state clone. You have my respect Rin-san, from one Kunoichi to another. But I'm afraid that now we have to fight, please do try to give a girl a good time and I'll do my best to give you one last good time."

The woman sounded like she was sincere in her words but Rin could sense something in the air coming off of her new opponent. It felt almost like bloodlust but Rin eventually figured out that it was battle lust. Though Rin couldn't quite tell if her new opponent had meant that last sentence to sound quite as perverted as it came across as, but a voice in the back of her mind said that it probably meant to be that ambiguous.

The new fight began.

Rin expected her opponent to do something besides just stand there, but the masked woman just stood there with her weapon drawn, a kusarigama with a chain on it.

A moment later and both her instincts and Isobu confirmed what was the problem. "GENJUTSU! KAI!" and the illusion shattered to reveal the kusarigama's blade mere centimeters from being sunk into Rin.

Rin dodged as quickly as she could but the blade still managed to swipe at her but the flak jacket she wore took the worst of it.

She engaged the assailant in taijutsu, but it proved at best to only inconvenience the attacker. But Rin was able to get a few good shots in.

She quickly formed a few hand seals and fired off a few water bullets hoping it would do something. Only one hit, but the woman seemed to not be phased by it.

'_My High Pressure Water Bullet hit her square in the chest and she's acting like it's a minor inconvenience.'_

**Perhaps it might be time for a change in tactics.**

'_What do you suggest?' _Rin thought as she dodged a swing of her opponents blade and countered with a punch aimed at her assailant's face

**Version One. The power boost to your attacks and the additional defense will make this opponent easier and safer to deal with.**

'_This will be the first time we used it in combat since you decided that I had mastered it.' _

**I know. But right now the reward outweighs the risk and we were going to have to put your Version 1 to a combat test sooner or later.**

'_Alright. Let's go Isobu.'_

**Right.**

At that moment, Isobu's chakra began flooding into Rin's system, jump starting Rin's healing and easing the pains she was in.

On the outside, a cloak or reddish orange chakra enveloped Rin and took a shape reminiscent of a turtle. At the back, three tails formed and began to move as if they were part of Rin.

The assailant chuckled: "Am I such a threat that you would resort to the Biju you hold in order to stop me? My, what a compliment. I don't think this will change much."

The moment the assailant finished her taunt, Rin was on top of her with the chakra cloak's claw raised and poised to strike. The masked woman barely dodged and received a painful burning scratch where she was unable to fully avoid the attack.

The masked one's thought raced: _'Dammit, I should have ended it while I had the chance. She's much faster now, and this is only the first stage chakra cloak. How much faster would the second stage cloak be? I need to end it or start figuring out a way to run.'_

The woman countered Rin: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" spitting out a massive fireball at the Jinchuriki who had started jumping towards her. However instead of trying to cancel it out, the Jinchuriki's cloak reacted and the tails swiped it aside.

'_She just swiped it aside. What did I step into? I should have just knocked her out at the start. She's much stronger now and if this keeps up she will kill me, but if I try to run she will catch me and then it's over anyways. I might be forced to use it.' _The masked woman thought in shock.

"Water Release: High Pressure Water Bullets!" Rin shouted her attack she prepared while her opponent was distracted with her thoughts and spat out multiple small fast moving bullets made of densely packed water once more. The masked attacker was unable to dodge many of them and took many direct hits.

The masked one's thoughts became frantic while Rin rushed her down and began slashing at her with the cloak's claws, her assailant just barely avoiding many lethal strikes: _'This is getting worse and worse. I can't stay or I will die. I have to use it, better to live and fight another day then to die and accomplish nothing, hopefully if it works Zetsu-sama will understand.'_

Rin sensed her opponent gather a massive amount of chakra for something and wondered what final gambit it could be before deciding to simply end it. She took her chakra cloak's claw and thrusted it into her opponent's chest. Dealing a killing blow.

Rin fell to her knees and allowed her cloak to dispel and rested, however a hacking noise from her opponent caught her attention.

Rin walked over and saw the masked woman taking a few labored final breaths before speaking to Rin: "That… That was beautiful. That was pr-probably the best fight I have ever had. I acknowledge you… Nohara Rin… as my greatest foe. I only wish I could fight you again. Maybe in the pure world."

Rin nodded: "Y-you almost had a few times. You really put me to the test. I haven't had a life or death fight like that in 8 years. You were great."

The masked woman seemed to be thrilled by that prospect: "Looks like I lived up to giving you a good time, just as you gave me one as well." The woman starting hacking again before speaking: "My name is Mai, remember it. For I hope we meet again. But before I die, you should know that the ones who attacked you are not the only ones. More were sent to attack Konoha. Get the rest you need, because there are far more of us." And with that the masked woman seemed to pass from the mortal realm.

Rin returned to her rest, before moving on to help others, to see if there was truth to a dying woman's words.

As she was resting, a familiar sound began echoing behind her before a very familiar chakra signature entered her sensory range. Soon a familiar voice began exclaiming: "Geez, what happened here Rin-chan?" Obito exclaimed before he walked over and saw the corpses and followed up: "Never mind, not like I needed much help considering what I knew. You got attacked by some of these assholes as well."

Rin's eyes shot open: "You got attacked as well?"

Obito nodded: "Yeah, I was attacked by one who I dragged into the Tsukuyomi and he got knocked out by the strain. Another one tried attacking while I was distracted and I incinerated him. Every clan compound in Konoha has been attacked but they fought off the intruders with minimal casualties. Except for the Uchiha. From what Shisui told me when I ran into him, they were hit the hardest, whatever jutsu they use to try to turn people into puppets is extremely effective against the standard Sharingan. Apparently these guys are connected to the one who killed my mom. The first one I fought tried to use it on me and I would have lost my fight if I hadn't accidentally activated my Eternal Mangekyo while trying to fight off my opponent's jutsu. Never mind that for now we need to check on the others then regroup with Kakashi. Shisui said he ran into him and that Naruto is with him and they are alright. Shisui also said that Kakashi said that both projects are alright. We can leave them in his hands for now. We got to make sure everything else is alright."

Rin nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. One that Obito probably shared. Both knew what the projects referred to: Naruto and Hinata. It meant that both were alright without having to draw undo attention to them.

Rin got up and grabbed on to Obito as the Uchiha initiated the Kamui warp to regroup with friends before going to their teammate and check on the kids.

However, neither noticed the woman identified as Mai's corpse fizzle away and vanish as though it was never there.

The forbidden jutsu Izanagi had been used.

Xxx

_**Hokage tower **_

Tenzo breathed heavily as he rested from his battle.

The day the village got invaded was during his rotation in the Hokage ANBU guard.

Everyone was tired from massive exertion, but it seemed as though the invaders were no longer attacking the tower.

The group had been wondering what had happened when Uchihas started attacking them alongside the masked assassins.

A narrowly dangerous visit from Shisui almost ended with him dead, but he clarified that the Uchiha were not assisting the attack.

Whatever was happening, it almost looked as though Uchiha were being put on puppet strings and forced to dance to their puppet master's wishes.

That put fear in Tenzo's heart.

But whatever was truly happening, it didn't change the fact that nothing they did would release the Uchiha puppets from their hell. The only way to deal with them was to kill them.

Tenzo felt as though every Uchiha puppet he killed, he was doing something that Danzo would have been pleased with.

It made the ANBU sick, but he would carry on. Because killing them now wasn't to ease Danzo's paranoia and his idea of protecting the village, Tenzo was doing it was to truly protect the village.

He couldn't imagine the hell they were trapped in. Helplessly watching as their body refused to obey their commands and kill their comrades and family.

The ANBU guard typically consisted of about 10 ANBUs. Six of them were dead.

Each one died having given their lives to protect Hiruzen-sama.

It seemed as if the last pockets of the unknown enemy were being dealt with.

It was no time to rest, it could be the lead up to a trap that would turn the tide or it could be a prelude to the reserve being deployed.

"Tenzo." An old voice called out.

"Yes Hokage-sama?" the Cat-masked ANBU responded.

"I believe the enemy has stopped gunning for me. I want three of you to begin assisting the other villagers. Tenzo, you shall lead them." Hiruzen finished.

"Understood Hokage-sama. Hawk, Boar. You two are with me. Chameleon, you stay here and protect the Hokage alongside his summon Enma." Tenzo ordered.

"Understood, taicho" the three other ANBUs said before the group broke up and began to do their assigned duties.

However no one noticed the masked man who slipped into the Hokage's office and placed a parchment on the Hokage's desk and then silently slipped away.

The man's mask was white and decorated with black chain patterns.

Xxx

_**Uchiha District**_

_**Residential section **_

Some of the masked used their possessive gazes strategically and efficiently while others used it inefficiently.

And then some just used it sadistically. Like one who was about to force a daughter to kill their mother.

"Mother, look out!" a teenaged voice cried out as she was forced to lunge but she said it too late.

A wet stab echoed in the Uchiha girl's mind as she fell to her knees beside her mother's dying form.

The masked one merely stood off to the side, enjoying the pain she had caused.

She was going to allow the child to wallow in her emotions for a while, and once her pain had reached its climax then she would die.

Then the mother reached up and said something to her daughter, sounded like assurance that what had happened wasn't her fault before she passed away.

The girl began crying and crying hard. A few minutes within that pain and then she would be ripe for the killing.

However, a minute later, the error in the sadistic torture had been revealed.

The girl that had been under the masked one's control stood up, as she did so, the masked woman felt her control literally break.

All the assailant could respond with was: "What the hell? How the Hell did you break free?"

The girl didn't turn around but spoke: "I don't know, but the burning in my eyes probably had something to do with it."

The girl turned around and blood began flowing down from one of her eyes and she quickly opened them, revealing an awakened Mangekyo.

In that brief moment, the masked woman knew that a grave mistake had been made.

Before she had a chance to do anything, the Uchiha girl spoke completely evenly: "Amaterasu."

Black flames consumed the assassin, severe burning pain consumed her entire body.

The Uchiha girl moved to leave the house to begin aiding what was left of her clan but something possessed her to speak one last time to her assailant: "I don't know who you are nor who sent you. I don't know why you are attacking my village and I don't know why you have the Sharingan. But you know what, I don't care why for any of it. I have a village to protect from your allies and a clan to save what I can of. The burning pain you feel in those flames is nothing compared to the burning I felt in my eyes and in my heart for what you made me do. But I do know one thing, my name is Uchiha Izumi, and you **REALLY PISSED ME OFF.**" Izumi finished, accentuating the words she ended with the enraged killing intent she possessed.

Then the Uchiha teen left, ignoring the dying screams of her assailant and tormentor. Ready to fight to save her village and clan.

Xxx

_**Streets of Konoha**_

Mitarachi Anko had a rough life.

She had been taken on as the student of the Sannin Orochimaru at a time where something like that was an honor.

But then he subjected her to his earliest Cursed Seal experiment. Leaving a piece of himself in her that would react to her emotions and constantly screamed for her to use it, often painfully so.

Anko had managed to mostly move on from the crap early years and managed to find some semblance of normalcy, especially after the Kyubi attack.

Sure some assholes never stopped believing that she was a sleeper agent for the Rogue Sannin. But the people who never abandoned her was the only ones whose opinions she cared about.

But then there was Manda, the Boss of the Snake Summoning Clan, and his annoying demanding for human sacrifices. Anko told every single one of the messengers who came with those demands to go straight to hell.

Though the problem that may have come from flipping off Manda was solved when she found out about the rather large sect of the Snake Clan who didn't agree with him. She then began summoning them exclusively.

So today was supposed to be like any other: Train with Kurenai and Yugao, go eat lunch, hang with friends, do a mission if a good one was up for grabs, and tease Kurenai about Asuma now that he had come back from the 12 Guardians of Fire.

But then these masked assholes started showing up and attacking.

And then Uchihas started attacking as well, however something told her and her friends that they were not doing it of their own free will, there was no killing Intent from the Uchihas being directed at them in the slightest. Something was wrong.

They tried every form of genjutsu dispelling they could think of but nothing worked. The best they could do was just put them out of their misery.

Anko figured that being killed to be set free from what was controlling them was better than to help destroy the village and people you swore to serve.

'_Though that doesn't make it any less shitty. It's like having a shit cake and choking on it as well.'_ She grumbled mentally. Though it was probably better than what Orochimaru would do to them.

There probably wasn't that much difference between being one of Orochimaru's test subjects and being bound to whatever was controlling the Uchiha, both were horrible and required too much luck to escape from once you were caught in, which meant that death was a mercy at this point.

Another of the possessed Uchiha rushed her but she quickly made hand seals and thrusted one arm forward: "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" the snakes rushing out of her coat's sleeve and constricted the limbs, holding the target in place, while her free hand grabbed a kunai and threw it directly at his heart which connected where she wanted it, killing the poor bastard.

Her snakes grabbed the kunai she threw and pulled it out of the guy's corpse. While this happened, another Uchiha rushed her.

Anko realized it almost too late and tried to react, but a chance save made it unnecessary.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!" a voice recognizable as Kurenai's called out while Yugao stabbed the possessed Uchiha in the heart.

"Thanks for the save." Anko said.

Yugao nodded while Kurenai responded: "You're welcome Anko. But I'd be more thankful that whatever is controlling them doesn't make them immune to Genjutsu that trick the body into believing it's been immobilized."

Anko nodded: "Yeah I know. Why the hell did these freaky bastards decide to attack while Gai was out of the village? We could have just told him it was a challenge from Kakashi and he would have killed them all in minutes."

Yugao and Kurenai both smiled slightly at the thought of that image.

At that moment Asuma showed up: "Sorry girls, we aren't done yet. We got more of the masked bastards coming with Uchihas."

At that moment, fireballs began approaching from the next wave. Anko screamed: "MOVE!"

Before anyone could however a familiar voice screamed: "Water Release: High Pressure Water Bullets!" sending multiple water projectiles that doused the incoming fireballs.

Anko mumbled to the others: "Thought she would never show up." Before she turned around to greet the newcomer to the battle: "Hey there Rin. What…took…you…so…long? What the hell?"

The others turned around to see what caused Anko to react so strangely and found it immediately.

Rin had arrived but she was shrouded by a cloak of visible red chakra, with the white of her eyes turned a light shade of red and the purple markings of her cheeks taking a far more greyish-blue color. The cloak took the shape of what appeared to be a turtle like creature and three tails formed at her back by chakra moved as though they were part of her.

That group immediately knew what this meant: Jinchuriki.

Obito walked beside of her and he didn't even seemed phased by it. He already knew.

Anko almost attacked the Uchiha but noticed that his general body language was far different from the puppets, he wasn't possessed by whatever the name for the jutsu that those guys had been hit with was.

Rin seemed to be irritated when she moved as fast as she could to deflect a wave of fireballs coming at them using her chakra cloak's tails while they were distracted.

Then she spoke: "I know this is a big shock but we need to keep our heads in the game right now! I'll explain later, once Konoha is safe and everything has settled enough."

That sounded good enough for Anko who went to work killing the enemies. The others seemed to agree, thankful that more help had arrived to help kill the invaders and put their possessed comrades out of their misery.

But the strength and ease that Rin tore through most of her opponents was amazing.

Anko thought to herself: _'So that's the might of a Jinchuriki, huh? I know that she has a Biju inside her, but as long as she can control it and can help us clean these bastards up, I don't give a fuck about it! Not like I can judge for having something forced inside your chakra network and kept there by a seal.'_

Anko went back to work. Ending the masked assassins whenever they showed up and putting the possessed Uchiha out of their misery.

Xxx

_**Uchiha District **_

_**Clan Head Residence**_

Itachi exhaled as he killed the last of the puppet Uchiha, the ones who were possessed by a Mangekyo jutsu similar to Shisui's Kotoatmasukami except for a few key details. Itachi had to kill cousins and near relatives after a few attempts to break the possessed free from the jutsu.

Shisui eventually caught up to him helping out at one of the other clan compounds dealing with possessed ninjas.

The jutsu seemed to take much more consistently against a standard Sharingan and relied on eye contact to take effect, so Itachi was forced to shut his eyes tight and rely on other senses for his area awareness whenever he found himself in a fight with the masked men.

Shisui had grabbed him and brought him back to the Uchiha compound with a Body Flicker.

Mother was there fighting off the last of the possessed Uchiha. He could tell by her movements that she was exhausted, Itachi jumped in and disposed of the poor souls who he was forced to kill.

Deep within, a deep rage stirred inside the Uchiha Prodigy, Itachi had the misfortune of bearing witness to the aftermaths of final battles of the Third Great Ninja War and it changed him. He was only six at the time but he had been forced to take part in and witness something that he came to despise with his very being: The concept and damage brought about by War.

That day had forced him to swear something: that as long as he lived, war would never touch Konoha again, be it with his actions while he lived or his dying act.

Leaving the brooding his clan had been associated with behind, he began finishing the clansmen who were under the control of the strange jutsu, freeing them from the nightmare of being used as puppets to kill their family and friends.

After the brief slaughter was done, Shisui disappeared to retrieve Sasuke from the academy and bring him home.

When he got back over an hour later he informed them of Obito's survival, who he mentioned he had run into earlier before finding Itachi, against his own attacker who had attempted to use the same possession jutsu against him. Itachi felt his heart sank for a moment when he heard that there was a way to break free from the body hijacking.

His mother quickly asked: "How did Obito do it?" the very same pain and regret stuck in her voice that Itachi felt inside.

Shisui responded: "He said he attempted to dispel it like a genjutsu and accidentally activated his Mangekyo which dispelled the attempted possession. Good to know that I have method to break free. He also said his attacker had a sharingan that shifted to a Mangekyo when he began trying to hijack him."

Itachi could only stare at that information, a Mangekyo technique caused all of this to be necessary because a majority of the Uchiha never awoke it, and their attackers had been Uchihas as well. But before he could sink further into his musings, the Killing Intent his mother began radiating had caused Itachi, Shisui, and Sasuke to all step back in fear with their breath caught in their throats.

"It seems like all my idiot brothers failed to kill you all. Such a shame, means I have to step up and finish those incompetent fools' jobs while also doing my own." A voice filled with Malice said as another masked man jumped down to face them, his mask bearing black flames on a blood red background. Like the rest of the masked men, he wore a cloak but unlike the others whose cloaks were rather loose and usually only showed just enough shape to give away gender and give a rough guess at their build, his was ragged and worn and yet it clung to him tightly. Armor plating was worn on his shoulder, knees, and his wrists with armored boots worn on his feet. The material of the plating seemed relatively undamaged by everything except time. He wore a dark colored belt diagonally around his chest looping over his right shoulder, attached to it was what appeared to be a shackle of some kind that rattled as he moved.

In his right hand he held a jagged curved sickle that almost looked as though it had and had not been forged properly. The jutting of the blade's material occurred along both the blunt outer side of the weapon and the sharp inner side of the blade. Along the inner side of the blade, the jutting appeared to almost resemble teeth.

In the eyes of his mask, his Sharingan could be seen and it was in a Mangekyo pattern that none of them had seen before and, most unsettlingly, an oily black shadow seemed to form just behind him and moved with him and twitched behind him. It could have been a trick of the eyes but they could have sworn it moved completely independent of the assailant for a moment and reveal a full head made of the shadowy substance and a face with pure white eyes on it.

Before the Uchihas could act against this new threat to their survival, a familiar voice screamed: "RUN! Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" the survivors reacted in time thanks to the warning and avoided the massive fireball spat at them. The horror began setting in as the source of the fireball landed next to the masked man. Uchiha Fugaku, his face twisted in horror and struggle as he was used as a puppet to finish the extermination that the masked assassins were sent to do.

"I don't think my puppet needs any introduction but allow me to introduce myself." The masked man said rather theatrically before continuing: "I am…"

"Kudo, what are you doing?" a voice that Mikoto recognized all too well uttered.

Two new masked men entered the fray, one that Shisui recognized as the man he saw a few weeks ago with the orange spiral mask and the other Mikoto recognized as the man whose actions forced her to end her sister's life.

The one who had appeared with Fugaku under his control looked at the new entrants with disdain: "Just like always, Moyo-_sama_, dropping in and ruining my fun when it starts getting good." The shadow that outlined behind him seemed to almost shimmer with rage.

The one Shisui recognized from earlier giggled in a childish voice: "You know he's right, Moyo. You are a bit of a party pooper." But then he switched posture like Shisui recognized and began speaking in a much deeper voice: "But for once, I have to agree with Moyo. Kudo, I agree with and encourage your fun, especially against my mutinous clan and against the people of this damned village, but we are scrubbing the mission. Most of our forces have been defeated and have been killed, are in the process of dying, or have begun evacuated to the proper encampment if they managed to survive. We are taking what we have accomplished and cutting our losses before they get intensified."

Mikoto's gaze went cold as she eventually snapped at the one whose mask was painted with black chains: "You! You were the one who forced me to kill Nao!"

The man just nodded, almost ruefully: "Indeed. My name is Moyo, it has been a while Makoto-san. As you probably can see, my brothers and I have Sharingans. The possessive gaze is a rather prevalent Mangekyo jutsu that is possessed by many of my brothers as well as myself. I would have renamed it after a traditional god like most Mangekyo jutsus after the initial test 10 years ago but I couldn't figure out one that would fit its nature. Back to the present, Kudo here was sent to kill you, Makoto-san, and with myself and Tobi we could probably take care of it easily but I know better than to fight presumably three S-class opponents. Specially ones whose full capabilities are not fully known to me. Besides, the mission has been scrubbed and we are retreating."

Itachi could only curse in his mind as he tried to figure out a way to kill the men before they got away.

Kudo almost pitched a tantrum: "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT! IT HAPPENS EVERY FUCKING TIME! Fine if that is how it will go then I will just have to make do with hand I am dealt. Fugaku: KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!" The shadow moved wildly with its master during this before fading.

Itachi felt a twinge of fear at the prospect of fighting his father but to protect those of his clan who he knew he could save, fear no longer factored in the young prodigy's mind.

Tobi nodded: "Hehe. Kudo's got the right idea. We'll leave Fugaku here to kill his family while we begin retreating." Tobi began channeling chakra for their escape to the rendezvous point.

Moyo merely nodded: "Of course. Should you all survive, we shall meet again."

Mikoto's rage had been simmering and then she finally snapped: "No, Moyo, you won't be leaving. You will DIE!" and the Uchiha Matriarch grabbed a handful of shuriken, three precisely, and threw them individually at the assassin in the black chained decorated mask. She put a great amount of strength into each throw which had a bit of timing between the individual tosses.

The assassin made a gesture with his right hand and a long kunai dropped out of his sleeve. A chain was visible that seemed to attach it to either the gauntlet he wore under the sleeve of his cloak or something further up the garment. Moyo grabbed the weapon by the handle and used it to deflect the first shuriken.

In a moment's notice, Moyo flung the blade at the second shuriken tossed at him, which deflected the thrown shuriken completely off its trajectory. He allowed it to continue moving forward a slight bit more before he grabbed the chain which stopped continuous forward movement of the blade before slinging the chain, the movement of which dragged the kunai towards the trajectory of the third shuriken. The shuriken was intercepted and thrown off course by the blade.

The brief moment Itachi glimpsed the blade this close showed it had seals of some kind carved into the very material of the blade. The piece that connected the blade to its chain also happened to be styled vaguely like a scorpion.

Moyo gave the chain a tug and the blade began returning to him. He grabbed it by the handle before wrapping the chain around his gauntlet under the sleeve of his cloak before holstering the blade itself in some sheath made for it. Moyo then spoke: "For what it is worth, I apologize for my actions having caused you such grief. Until we meet again."

From Tobi's exposed Mangekyo through his mask's single eye hole, a tear in space time formed and pulled the three into it.

Shisui spoke quietly: "Dammit. He does have Kamui phasing and warping. Obito's not going to like this."

"Mother, keep Sasuke away from the crossfire and leave Father to me and Shisui." Itachi quickly spoke, noting that she was most likely in no condition to fight. She nodded and grabbed her youngest son, partially manifesting her royal purple colored Susano'o to protect herself and Sasuke from the fight.

Fugaku seemed to struggle against the strings that was binding him to Kudo's will before breaking free long enough to speak clearly: "Itachi, Shisui, Mikoto, Sasuke. Anything personal I could say right now is already understood. We all know that the only way to break out is through personal possession of the Mangekyo, which I lack so I'm a dead man walking. Keep me from carrying out that bastard's mission, and protect what's left of our clan from extermination."

"As you wish Fugaku-sama." Chimed Shisui as he put his sharingan back into its standard form now that the threat of being subjected to that puppet jutsu was gone and reached for his tanto to begin the fight.

"I will try my best Fugaku." Said Mikoto as she held Sasuke close who had tears in his eyes at realizing what had to happen.

"I will, Father." Said Itachi as he reached into his pouch for shurikens. This was going to be a hard fought battle.

Fugaku made the first move, his hands flying through seals for a common Fire Release technique: "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" breathing three fireballs at his two opponents, but Itachi quickly retaliated with the same jutsu. Fugaku dodged but was struck by shuriken concealed by the fireballs while Shisui swung around to try and end the fight before too much damage was done.

Unfortunately Fugaku saw him coming and was able to counter with a Great Fireball Jutsu, forcing Shisui to break off his charge but countered with Uchiha Style Halo Dance, creating a flaming slash that was launched at the puppet Uchiha Clan Head.

The slash was avoided but still managed to graze the puppet Uchiha. Itachi grabbed more shurikens after making a few brief hand seals and breathing a stream of fire on the shurikens and throwing them announcing: "Fire Release: Thorns of the Phoenix Flower!" the flaming shurikens found their mark and Itachi quickly rushed to capitalize on their effect. Fugaku's possessed body pulled out a kunai and attempted to stab Itachi in the heart mere centimeters away from him.

Itachi was able to duck under the stab and went for a gut punch to hopefully cause enough pain to disorient and give an opening to kill Fugaku.

Fugaku moved away before Itachi's punch could land.

Shisui attempted to move behind Fugaku while he was focused on Itachi but was seen and was blasted with a fireball in his path for his troubles.

Itachi quickly made hand seals: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Fugaku's possessed body just barely got out of the way of the attack, but was burned by the edges of the fireball. The wince of pain made it clear that damage had been done.

Itachi drew his sword and charged his father with the intent to end it.

Shisui charged as well, Fugaku used the Phoenix Flower jutsu again and managed to force Shisui to break off his charge once more, but this time the teleporter threw multiple Shurikens that hit their marks and held Fugaku in place, unable to avoid Itachi's attack.

Fugaku's body responded to the incoming blade was to grab it by sharp edge and then pull Itachi close enough and stab him in the heart with a kunai.

Itachi's eyes went wide as did Fugaku who was horrified at his body's successful murder of his son. However Itachi burst into crows, revealing him as a crow clone while the real Itachi swung around and attempted to stab his father in the heart with his katana.

Fugaku dodged just barely and knocked Itachi's sword away from him.

Itachi pulled a kunai out and rushed as fast as he could, plunging it into Fugaku's heart with all the strength he could muster, feeling as though he wouldn't have been able to end the fight otherwise.

"I-Itachi…Sh-Shisui…w-well done. Itachi… t-take… c-care … of your… m-mother and brother." Fugaku weakly asked as he began passing from the mortal coil.

"I will Father." Itachi responded as his father passed.

Tears started forming in his eyes before they began to burn. Itachi almost screamed as the pain began to feel as though his eyes were actually on fire. Tears and blood fell from his eyes.

The Mangekyo had been awakened.

Itachi turned to the last remaining members of his family and saw the terrified face of his brother with tears running down his cheeks freely and one Tomoe Sharingans awakened in his eyes. Itachi knew exactly what caused the dojutsu to awaken.

But it didn't matter for now.

The Uchiha were now an endangered species, with only five members alive, the rest murdered by assassins and themselves who were put under the assassins' control.

In the end the survivors had won the right to continue the clan.

Many changes would occur as a result, there was no mistaking it, but Konoha still stood as did the survivors of the massacre of one of its last remaining founder clans.

However a voice that would soon call out to them would put the brooding they all held somewhat at ease.

"Itachi! Mikoto-sama! Shisui!" a voice that Itacki recognized screamed out and he turned and saw the source of: Izumi. Apparently she had survived as well.

Itachi allowed himself to sit down. Some optimism for the future returning as he began to clean the tears and blood from his face.

But fear still remained in his heart. Fear that had been born of Itachi witnessing some of the aftermaths to battles in the Third Great Ninja War.

'_Whatever kami is out there, Please don't allow this to be the start of another war.'_

**END CHAPTER 8**

**Man, this chapter took forever. It is currently 12:33 AM, Saturday November 8, 2019. It has been a week and 2 days since this chapter was started writing but I had a massive case of Writer's block starting with the Kakashi portion and reoccurring frequently throughout each following section once I finished it and started the other sections that followed. At the time of this writing I'm starting on editing chapter 1 of this fanfiction for uploading. Well I'm going to go back to Three Houses and a few other game before I go back to writing. Next chapter will be the aftermath. **

**Rewrite notes: I finished the editing at about 11:45 pm. Nothing else to say other than the notes for each section**

**Hizashi's section: this was meant to reveal Hizashi as one of the men on Hisashi's pay roll in the Hyuga clan and confirm what Hisashi wrote to Hiruzen in chapter 6. We get a glimpse of what powers Hisashi's possesses. No, he isn't a Nara.**

**Obito's section: This was originally where the chapter started. Not much to say other than originally it ended at the Tsukuyomi. But originally there were only one assassin fight per character who dealt with them. This actually demonstrates one of my views on Obito, I think that even without Zetsu and Madara manipulating him, Obito would have still developed some of his recognizable character traits from his time as the Masked Madara. I think that their influence only made them far worse and more noticeable. I feel similar about Kakashi's laziness. I think he would have loosened up eventually but the trauma he endured forced him to develop a far more extreme version of it to cope.**

**Tobi's section: His section revealed who the Akatsuki was after Danzo and the old man's inadvertent part in the Kyubi attack. Tobi's question about Danzo's transplanted arm should shed light on who Orochimaru and Nanashi were sent to recruit. In writing this note I almost wrote Nanashi's real name. And I wrote it to try and further muddy the waters over who he could be. *Insert over the top hammy Evil Laugh here***

**Kakashi's section: Well Mizuki just got written out. I don't think any fan fic that I have read has had him try to betray the village this early and end up getting what he is owed for it this early in the timeline. And the origin of Kakashi's Sharingan has been revealed. Kakashi's observation about those 11 students are about actually passing the True Genin Test. Not much else to say. **

**Rin's section: This really doesn't need much discussion other than Mai. The second assassin sent after Rin. Yes, she survived through Izanagi. Originally Mai was supposed to be a another nameless faceless assassin to get killed but then I started actually trying to make the fights and some of the assassins unique from one another, creating a fight loving but cautious yet crafty Kunoichi in Mai. One who would rather live and fight another day rather than die a meaningless death. She will be seen again. **

**Tenzo's section: This was setting up for something I have planned later. With Moyo leaving behind a letter.**

**The assassin's section: She, the assassin whose perspective this section was told from, was a demonstration of what Moyo saw as the filth to be purged from his Makayu. I have to admit that originally Izumi was going to have her canon fate but not how it happens. Then I began toying around with Moyo and realized just how much he wanted the attack to fail and how he would work to gain the most from it by making it look as though the only reason it succeeded was cause of his leadership. So dumbass who decides to hijack an Uchiha decides to put them through the worst mental torture, let them wallow in the pain for a few minutes, and then kill them. With the Mangekyo, it is a phenomenally dumb idea to the point of too dumb to live. **

**Anko's section: Her comment about having a shit cake and choking on it as well is a reference to a joke that John Oliver made on _Last Week Tonight with John Oliver_. I cannot remember which episode or the specific piece he made it in. I have been listening to a lot of LWT during isolation to deal with the growing cabin fever and a lot of it is blending together. I don't have much else to say other than the cat is out for that group that Rin is a jinchuriki. Be aware that my plans have Anko being a pretty central character eventually. So this certainly will not be the last of her. Also in case anyone starts wondering why she was in awe of Rin's power, I think of Anko as one of the few who hasn't had a run in with a Jinchuriki before. I think she knows what to look for and expect from one utilizing their Biju's power, but this is her first time seeing it. I also think that even if it is being used to do something that needs to be done, it is alright to admire the power Rin is finally showing to her friends outside of Obito and Kakashi that she possesses.**

**Itachi's section: Here we see how Itachi gets his Mangekyo in this fic and how Sasuke gets his Sharingan. I tried to give Fugaku a good final fight, but right now long fights are not my forte. This adds Kudo to the list of the masked assassins who survive the attack. I ended with Izumi's survival being revealed to the others to help lightened the mood after what just happened, to give back some of the optimism that has just been crushed. I ended with that thought from Itachi, because at his core, wanting to prevent another war is his defining character trait. So much so that he "betrayed" the village to accomplish it. I wanted to keep Itachi faithful to his core character while also watching as the differing from canon events changes him. **

**Well that is all I have got. I finished writing the notes at 12:06 am on 4/23/2020. I'm going to bed, see you whenever this gets posted. (Which was at 9:30 AM, after making a few more changes.)**

**Change log(5/21/2020): not much other than some slight changes to fix grammar and spelling. Added a bit about Kudo in Itachi's section to start setting the stage for later with him. As well as Mikoto attacking Moyo and him showing off a bit of his weapon style.**

**Leave a review to help me improve. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**Until next time: Stay Safe and Stay Healthy**

**SEE YA LATER!**


	9. Calm at Twilight

Seals of Fate

**Back once more. Started writing on 4/23/2020 at 12:41 pm.**

**Hey, if any of you are artists, I would like to commission a cover for this fic. Message me if you're interested or know someone who might be interested.**

**We see the debut of a fan favorite characters, one I like as well but not as much as others.**

**Apparently, I lied when I said it was going to be monthly between chapters. **

**Fair warning, thing get a little dark in this one, towards the end.**

**Note: (5/7/2020) this is written as I approach the end of writing and editing for this chapter. This I feel needs to be said. A little bit about myself, I live at home with my mom and step-father. Just over two years ago, in April of 2018, right before I graduated high school, my mother and step father adopted a little Yorkshire Terrier named Hope who was barely a year old and needed to be re-homed. She was a mess, rambunctious, loud, barked at things for no reason, would pee on places she wasn't, would leave "gifts" all over the place, would growl at you if she laid on or next to you and forced her to move after she got comfortable, and did things that would have others take her back. But we loved her, and she loved us. All she wanted was for us to pay attention to her and we were more than happy to provide it. We called her little girl, a demon dog, the little gift giver, the littlest beggar because of how loudly she would beg us for our meals even though she had her own food and water bowls that never went empty if we could help it, the little shit which needs no explanation considering her behavior which I have told you about, Hopey-Dopey, the little heathen dog by my step-father for her loudly barking and begging during prayers at meals, and the literal definition of the word bitch because a week after getting her she went into heat. Early in Hope's life with us, in the summer following my graduation, she swallowed a pill I take at night to go to sleep due to ADHD that had fallen to the floor. We were able to get her to an animal clinic and they were able to save her that time. Today started normally, my mom had a dentist appointment at 2pm and it was 1:30. She opened the puppy gate that separated the house and kept Hope on the side of the house she knew how to somewhat behave in. Hope ran through and ran down the hall to my room to see me, but she slipped and slammed into the wall. She fell to the floor and curled up slightly before going completely motionless as me and my mom called to her before noticing the blood pooling beneath her head. We rushed to get help to try and save her, and rushed her to an animal clinic. Hope didn't make it. An x-ray showed that she snapped her neck. By 3:30 my step father got home and by 3:57 we had her buried in the back yard next to the graves of my step father's other two dogs, both black labs. This was the second time my mom lost a Yorkie to circumstance. Hope was 3, almost 4, years old at the most and we lost her to a freak accident. The grief and reality didn't truly hit me till we had her body in the hole and my step father began burying her. My point is freak accidents can take anything away from us in an instant. So cherish who or what you have while you have it and once it is gone be able to reminisce about the good times. That is the only reason I'm able to write right now despite constantly expecting Hope to do things that I have grown used to her doing only to remember that she is dead now thanks to an accident is because I choose to focus on the good times we had with her rather than the extremely shit ending to it all that felt like a freak nightmare that I will wake up from at any moment only to realize that it isn't going to happen. In honor of a good little girl, who will be sorely missed, I choose to do this.**

**In Loving Memory of:**

**Hope Bliss**

**(Day and month of birth unknown, only know it was late in the year), 2016- May 7, 2020**

**I love you little girl, and I sure will miss you. But I will never forget the joy you brought to both me and your mommy and daddy. **

**May you rest in peace, Hope.**

**This chapter is dedicated to you, Hope. I will put a little sendoff to you in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Wish I did. Though it's probably for the best that I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 9

Calm at Twilight

_**Akatsuki meeting room**_

_**The day of Daybreak**_

_**2 hours following the retreat order**_

Within the confines of the cave beneath Amegakure that had been refurbished into Akatsuki's meeting hall, a gathering of phantoms began to convene.

The phantoms of the nine who made up the current Akatsuki formed first in a circle around the room, before being followed by an additional three in the center of the room.

Pain noticed the tension and dread that hung in some of the members in charge of the invasions and decided that answers were needed: "Report. First the Taki mission, then the operation in Suna, and lastly the Konoha attack."

The ones tied to each nodded.

Kakuzu spoke for himself and Hidan: "We lost the majority of the army we put together to invade Taki. Most were lost trying to get in. The rest who died did so trying to take the village. When we got control of the village, nothing was where it was supposed to be. No Forbidden Scroll, no Jinchuriki, no Funds, and not even their standard Jutsu Scroll. We searched everywhere. Eventually we looked through documents and found that Taki had used all of it funds to pay owed debts and then distributed it to allies. We don't know who exactly and how much each. The jinchuriki was nowhere to be found alongside the scrolls. We tortured the leader Shibuki for information and he revealed everything, saying it was already too late. The Jinchuriki and the scrolls were taken to Konoha by one its best jonins. They knew we were coming for them and sent them away almost a week before we attacked. They'll be arriving in the Leaf soon."

Pain was displeased but nodded: "You did destroy Taki as we wanted. While that last bit is displeasing, we should have predicted that such a large army of Missing Nin would have been detected especially by one as vigilant as Takigakure. You will not be punished, this failure was not on you."

Pain spoke again: "Suna operation, report."

Sasori nodded: "I did as was instructed alongside my partner. We thought about attempting to breach the village and abduct the Jinchuriki but decided against it for other reasons. Suna was too focused on us to notice anything from Konoha or Taki. We both escaped as you can see by our associate's presence here."

Pain nodded: "Very well, we will take the Ichibi another time. Konoha operation, report."

Zetsu and Tobi looked at each other almost asking one another who wanted to give it before Zetsu volunteered. "Well let's start with what went right. **The Uchiha have been eliminated down to about five or six confirmed survivors. **Oh yes, and we took a reasonable chunk out of their shinobi forces. **We were able to acquire Orochimaru's payment. **Tobi was able to get in and extract Danzo, but since the recruit is here, you probably already figured that part. **But the bad news is we were unable to obtain any of the Jinchurikis. **Oh yes that, and we were unable to acquire any of the payment for Nanashi, we were unable to find it. **The losses we inflicted were big but not debilitating to the village's strength. **We didn't manage to kill any major shinobi from the village. **And the Cherry on top to this disgusting mess is that out of a group of forty-two shinobi, Tobi included, only four managed to return. **But the fact that we managed to pull of what we did can be traced to Moyo-kun's excellent leadership when our plan went belly-up."

Nanashi's air became one of annoyance when Zetsu mentioned the mission's failure to acquire his payments while Orochimaru's eyes went wide and he began licking his lips in excitement and anticipation at the confirmation that his payment was acquired.

Pain took in and let out a breath in a way that could almost be considered a sigh before he nodded: "I see, I suppose we can make do for now with Orochimaru's pet project rather than the actual Kyubi, Sanbi, Nibi, Nanabi, or Ichibi for now. Moyo's assistance on multiple occasions has been noted to be excellent. He was up for consideration already and this mission was the final test to prove his viability for candidacy. Based on what you have said, Moyo has proven himself." Pain looked towards Konan.

Konan nodded: "You three each bring something unique to the table and have been vital assets to our operation in the past or have offered to be of such assistance. Moyo, Uchiha Shin, and Hoshigake Kisame. All three of you have proven worthy to be part of our plan. Welcome to Akatsuki."

Shin removed his hood to reveal a head shaved and covered in Sharingan eyes that gave him 360 degree eye sight, with one eye in his natural eye socket that was a Mangekyo stitched permanently wide open. His pale skin was clearly noticeable but the bandaging covering one of his arms was also very much noticeable even in hologram form. "I look forward to working among this organization, Pain-sama. The human race has begun stagnating and I intend to correct that, especially now that I have my right arm back from Danzo with all the modifications he made to it."

Kisame grinned with the ferocity of a shark at his work towards making his world of truth a reality, while his sword Samehada the Shark Skin Greatsword writhed in anticipation for the opponents they would be facing. "Heh, heh. This will be fun."

Moyo grinned behind his white mask with black chain decaling, Sharingans glowing with excitement: _'Kudo and Mai is all that is left of your black flames Zetsu, and I will see them snuffed out if they continue to resist me. By keeping your promise, you have allowed me to get into a position to bargain with potential allies. When the Makayu begin writing their history, I believe it will start many years ago, but today shall be noted as the day rebellion began.'_

Moyo spoke after he had finished his thought: "It will be an honor to serve you Pain-sama."

Pain nodded and spoke again: "We are currently looking at one more member, a ninja from Iwa's Explosion Release wielding Basu Clan named Deidara, nicknamed the Mad Bomber. He is considered to be one of the best users of the Basu Clan's explosive arts. We believe he will be defecting in the next 2-4 years. When we approach him, we will set the permanent two man team assignments. Kisame, head to Ancestors and meet up with Moyo at his people's hideout. You will be the first permanent two man team unless something drastic happens. Considering Kakuzu and Hidan's success and their temperaments, they will be permanent partners as well."

Moyo and Kisame both nodded: "Of course Pain-sama." While Kakuzu and Hidan both grumbled about Pain's additional announcement.

Kisame spoke to Moyo: "Well, well, Moyo-san. It looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I have got personal stuff to take care of, then I will be heading to the Land of Ancestors. I should be heading that way in about 2 or 3 weeks."

Moyo nodded: "Of course. Take all the time you need, Kisame-san."

Kisame smiled: "Oho, it looks to me like we shall be getting along just fine."

Pain addressed the entire gathering: "Anything else we need to discuss? Unless so, this meeting is adjourned."

And the phantoms disappeared from the room.

_**Above in Amegakure**_

_**In a room in the basement of Pain's Tower**_

Nagato and Konan both awoke from the Body Lantern technique. Both groaned from having to readjust to their stiffened bodies.

"Nagato, Konan. Are you two alright?" a man asked.

Nagato responded: "We're fine Shigure. Just need a moment after releasing the technique."

Shigure nodded. He was a middle aged shinobi of Ame, who had brown eyes and black hair, with a strong build. He was one of the few who never used honorifics or titles to refer to The Rinnegan bearer or the Paper Angel. He wore the standard Ame uniform, but over it he wore the uniform of Yahiko's Akatsuki.

The man was older than his leaders and their deceased friend but he had been one of the first to join them when the trio established the original incarnation of Akatsuki. His loyalty to the old Akatsuki saw him to rejoin what he managed to salvage of the old organization with what Konan and Nagato were now building. He now served as Ame's head Jonin.

A new voice sounded: "Father, is everything alright?"

A young man and woman walked into the room where Nagato's mech stood.

Shigure responded: "Arashi, Suzume. There is nothing wrong." He said to his children.

The boy, Arashi nodded. The boy had been assigned to be Nagato's personal bodyguard, to protect him from any and all harm that may attempt to assault the Rinnegan Holder while his attention was divided by the Six Paths of Pain.

Suzume, the girl, was a medic who was assigned to help with the treatment of Nagato's body due to degradation due to his paralysis. Helping to preserve his muscles and overall health in case a way to restore his lower body's motor functions was found. Thanks to her efforts since being assigned, Nagato had only suffered minimal degradation to his body and had begun to reverse some of the worst of the emaciation and muscle damage that had begun to set in.

Both did their jobs silently, without fanfare nor expectance of thanks, and with efficiency. Nagato had begun to truly appreciate their efforts. Every little bit helped ensured that Konan had less to worry about.

Anything that help to lift the burden off her shoulders he was fine with. Konan was the last person that he truly cared about that was still alive.

Nagato briefly closed his eyes and focused to begin sensing through the Jutsu attached to the endless rain above Amegakure. The scope was limited by him not being able to extend the sensing radius past a 7 kilometer radius around the fortified Hidden Village. He hoped that one day he could use the Rain Sensing jutsu as a means to transmit chakra to the Six Paths of Pain, but at his present skill he was unable to.

Nagato searched for a while to find what he was looking for and eventually he found something out of place. "Zetsu has been poking his head into Ame."

Konan responded: "It's been almost a decade since we began our partnership with Zetsu and Tobi and I still feel as though it is a mistake to trust them. They're hiding something. They have always been hiding something. Tobi claims he's Madara but then we got that tip a week ago claiming that he was lying and Zetsu has always had a look in his eye suggesting that he doesn't see us as equals, superiors, or even subordinates. Never mind that the letter we got warning us about Tobi also warned against trusting Zetsu."

Nagato nodded: "I know, Konan. I know. We need to keep our eyes open for any evidence for or against Tobi and Zetsu."

Nagato turned towards Arashi: "Whoever is due to guard the room's entrance next, get them on duty. Go home and rest. I need this chamber under constant guard in case Zetsu or Tobi one decide to kill me."

Arashi nodded: "As you wish Nagato-sama."

Nagato turned to Shigure and continued: "I was lucky that Tobi and Zetsu both bought my story about the new modifications to Ame's defenses and infrastructure being able to prevent Zetsu from entering using Mayfly was an accident and not intentional. But I cannot rely on luck always and Tobi has that blasted Kamui technique. I need someone to start combing both our Fuinjutsu library and the unwritten knowledge of our Fuinjutsu division for anything that may have been developed for blocking any form of space time technique."

Shigure nodded: "As you wish Nagato."

The two men left while Konan sat down as Suzume began her daily check up on Nagato's condition.

_**Concurrently in the Mountains' Graveyard.**_

Once Tobi had retrieved the hybrids and sent them to the Land of Ancestors, then he return to the hideout in the Mountains' Graveyard, a mountain region flooded with giant bones.

This large region was the final resting place to many of the great summons. Toads, Snakes, Slugs, Salamanders, Ant-Lions, Hawks. It didn't matter.

All summons who were near the end of their lives and they knew it and came here had come to die in peace.

Beneath the ground lied a huge tunnel network that surfaced in every country that made up the Elemental Nations. But the largest of them led to Ancestors.

Within this network lied Tobi's lab for certain things, the Gedo Mazo statue that was pertinent to the plan, and the White Zetsu flower. White Zetsu Clones attended to both the statue and the flower while attempting to harvest enough chakra from what wandered into the region until the first Biju could be sealed into the Gedo Mazo to begin larger production of new White Zetsu.

There was an eyrie sense of peace penetrating the entire area despite the threat that laid underneath it.

That was why Tobi chose to come here whenever he had nothing to attend to.

But that peace was doing little to help Tobi at the moment.

The moment he was released from the Body Lantern technique, one of the migraines that had been plaguing him since the fight with that _damned _Minato had hit.

They were absolute agony. And worse they would agitate the numerous scars that covered his face leading to greater pain.

However, the pain on the surface seemed to focus on the scar that bisected his face.

But the worst was the voices that would emerge as well. He couldn't tell how many there were in total, but he could definitely tell that there was two who were far louder than the rest and sounded similar to his own voice in different ways. Whenever the voices started, he always heard them unlike the others who came and went.

But now they were torturing him.

_How could we do anything like what you have done? _The gruff, elder sounding voice asked.

_Why do we even bother? You know Zetsu is using you. _The younger and world weary voice said.

"Shut up! I am the great Uchiha Madara and I will not be tortured by voices in my head!" Tobi responded.

The elder of the two voices responded: _Are you sure that you truly are Madara? You could be being strung along by Zetsu because it is to his benefit to have you play that role._

The younger of the two posed his own line of thought: _Maybe you're a clone of him and you have been lied to. Maybe Namikaze gave you amnesia and the memories that held were ones that seemed to point to you being Madara, when really you were a clone or his apprentice._

A part of Tobi wanted to stop fighting as if it had been convinced but he held strong: "Shut up!"

Both voices answered: _Very well. We shall leave you alone for now, but we shall return._

The voices all went silent and then the pain began to recede.

Tobi was left with only himself and his own thoughts.

Xxx

_**The Land of Wind **_

_**Sunagakure, the Village hidden by the Sand**_

_**3 hours following the Retreat order for Daybreak**_

Among the desert ninja village they had legends and great shinobi.

The current Kazekage Rasa was considered to be amongst the best his generation had produced. The village held high hopes for his children, except for one of them.

Gaara of the Desert, bearer of the Magnet Release Bloodline and the Ichibi, unloved by all except himself.

Ever since his childhood, people had sought to end him and his existence. Though thankfully he had been protected by both his sand and his 'mother.'

Any threat to his wellbeing was dealt with by the sand while additional strength besides his own and the ability to function despite not being able to sleep was provided by the Ichibi.

No one cared for him, not his older siblings, not their father, not the people of the village, not his uncle before he attempted to murder him and ended up completely breaking Gaara's desire to not be a monster, and, according to the man's last words, not even his own mother as she pronounced him to be her dying curse on Suna.

Day in and day out, Gaara's life and purpose had become killing to maintain the proof of his existence. Each kill strip away that of his victim and gave it to him.

Gaara would never admit to anyone, but there was more than the monster he had become in his mind broken insanity. He knew there was a large void in his life that no amount of blood or proof of his existence could possibly fill. He also found others abusing those who they knew to be better than them in order to feel better about themselves to be abhorrent and so did 'Mother.' They were among the few that she would never cry for the blood of, lowly growling that they weren't even worth the effort.

Gaara had once questioned 'Mother' about why she hated those bullies so much and her only response was to the effect of that she had asshole older brothers who thought themselves better than her and thus made fun of her.

However unknown to Gaara, the voice of his mother was a bit too real for any seal master to be comfortable with. The voice he had been communicating with was not the voice of his mother, but rather the Ichibi pretending to be her.

Some people in Suna had forgotten the fact that mankind didn't know where he and the other Biju came from, only that they had been around far longer than the concept of shinobi and ninjutsu.

Shukaku, as the Ichibi had been called by his father, used to believe in mankind's potential to reach for Hagoromo-tou-san's dream. But when the humans decided they would rather fight and kill one another over petty things, he became disgusted with them real quick.

It was one of the few times he and Kurama completely agreed on something and that something needed to be done, as well as how to do it.

The two brothers began killing humans, trying to purge those attitudes from humans by acting as nature's wrath and judgement given form.

It worked for a time, but then humans decided to keep on killing one another, instead of trying to figure out how to solve the problem with the two Biju peacefully.

After a time, Kurama gave up completely, deciding to keep to himself and only kill those who came after him and refused to leave when he gave them the chance to do so.

Shukaku kept on killing. But when he tried to stop, he realized that he had gained a taste for it. He had become addicted to the slaughter.

It was like the old story about the beast who killed man tasted their blood and meat, no taste was ever quite as sweet again.

Eventually, some of the people who lived in the desert he made his home in managed to capture and seal him inside one of their own, creating his first jinchuriki.

The guy wasn't bad, Shukaku was willing to admit that he was alright, had some views on humanity that Shukaku could agree with and respect.

However a new level of hatred was inspired in the Tanuki a few Jinchurikis later. The people began to ostracize that Jinchuriki because something happened and he went on a rampage.

What came after was something Shukaku had experienced before and came to despise: being blamed, hated, and demonized for something you had no control over. It wasn't something he would wish on his worst enemy.

He had hated it when his siblings bullied him for his intelligence compared to some of them and for his bloodthirst, but this was even worse.

When the people who had imprisoned him joined with a few other clans to form Suna, Shukaku thought that maybe the world was starting to change for the better.

He came to see that it was partly right, it was changing but not for the better.

Suna did nothing to stop the treatment of his Jinchurikis.

The one who had it worse was Bunpaku. One of the few Jinchurikis of his who Shukaku thought was worth remembering. A Wind Monk from a Monastery that practiced an altered form of the Ninja Arts that were far more in line with Father's dream. Where he was given hatred, belittlement, and demonization for what he had been chosen to hold, he gave back love, humor, understanding, and did it all with good cheer even if he wanted to break down crying. Even when they imprisoned him for doing his duty, he still never broke and became what they thought he was.

Shukaku looked at the man's soul and saw the ideals Hagoromo-tou-san envisioned.

When Shukaku told him as much, Bunpaku broke down crying stating that everything he believed in had been validated with one sentence from another tortured soul.

When Bunpaku passed, Shukaku mourned him. But then his hatred was made even worse by the folktale that emerged regarding Shukaku and Bunpaku. The people had decided that Bunpaku was a monster that was imprisoned and destroyed, but his evil was so great that the Shinigami couldn't take him, so he reincarnated as the Ichibi.

Shukaku felt his hatred soar and decided that his bloodthirst had been suppressed long enough, if mankind was willing to spit on a life as pure as Bunpaku's, then mankind was truly beyond saving and thus utterly without hope.

But then there was his current Jinchuriki Gaara. The boy had a messed up seal from his father having the Biju sealed inside of him while he was still in the womb. The strain caused the boy to be born prematurely and lead to his mother's death. Shukaku didn't know much more than that, but he knew something strange was going on. He didn't control the sand that sought to protect Gaara from all harm, but something did. He could almost feel another presence or chakra controlling the automatic defense, but anytime he drew close to figuring it out with his limited ability to traverse Gaara's mindscape, the presence would vanish.

Something in the story that he and Gaara had heard didn't add up.

'_**It probably would be easy to figure out if this damn seal hadn't been completely fucked up!'**_the creature thought to itself.

Even if the seal was proper to contain Shukaku and contain him entirely within the seal and lock off his limited ability to traverse Gaara's mindscape, his mind at least would be able to rest properly and then he might be able to make things add up.

Gaara was the perfect pawn for Shukaku to manipulate, the inability to sleep had led to a rather unique temperament and a mild delirium that could be easily taken advantage of, but the more he looked at Gaara, the more he saw himself staring back.

Gaara was very young when the two first met face to face. Shukaku could have done more to put the boy under his thrall, but he settled for warning him to not fall asleep.

Shukaku wondered for a while about why he did that and came to the conclusion that he was getting sentimental.

But now he saw a bunch of older kids bullying a young girl.

Shukaku could tell with his sensing that the older kids were already genin. But one look at the girl told him that she was already as skilled as them, while still being an academy student.

He could tell she was a student because she lacked any discernible signs that she had been forced to kill yet, either out of necessity or a simple desire to.

The older ones were genin who wouldn't go far, but this girl had potential and could reach higher than them and they knew it. They hated it and they wanted to crush her for it so she couldn't outshine them when her career began. Pest like that weren't worth killing.

It was far more poetic to let them live and force them to see that potential become realized. Even if Shukaku hated poetry.

Gaara's thoughts interrupted Shukaku's own: _'Mother, should I kill them?' _feeling his Biju's outrage.

**NO! THESE ARE VERMIN! THEY ARE NOT WORTH KILLING! They should be made to scurry like the pest they are. **The Biju started screaming before responding with cold, dark venom.

'_Understood.' _Gaara droned in his thoughts.

Childish yet cruel taunts could be heard clearly as the unstable Jinchuriki approached the vermin.

"She couldn't even…" one of them began before a wave of killing intent washed over the group. One they knew already.

The tormentors turned around slowly to see a boy younger than them but one they knew to fear. A face that was normally stoic and unreadable had the frown that he usually wore made noticeably larger.

"G-G-G-GAARA!" one of them screamed.

His intent was nauseating and overwhelming but they somehow managed to have the food in their stomachs remain in them and remain standing on their feet under it.

"Vermin. That's what you are. Vermin. You see what is better than you will ever be, something that will be greater than you will ever be, and you seek to have it torn down out of jealousy so that you won't be outshined due to your own weakness. I see something that I would normally turn into a pile of corpses. It would be an easy task but you are not worth that effort. Scurry away like the vermin you are. I have a good memory for faces that anger me. If I see you doing this again, the sands will be red with your blood." The small redhead spoke in near monotone.

The tormentors nodded fearfully and ran off.

The girl remained on the ground and appeared to be confused with a slight tinge of red covering her cheeks.

Gaara spoke: "I advise you stay away from me. I may have helped you now but that was because of the vermin. Next time might be very different and end with your blood staining the sand." Before he turned and walked away.

The girl stared for a moment before getting up.

She had heard about Gaara, a monster who killed anyone.

She always thought a monster would have been much bigger than her, that a monster would kill anyone he could, and that monster would never help someone who was being bullied.

The monster everyone warned her about was about her size, spared the bullies that were tormenting her and herself as well, and scared off the bullies because what they were doing disgusted him.

That last one definitely didn't sound like what a monster would do. That sounded like what an actual human being would do.

There was a coldness to his eyes but there seemed to be something else there too.

She heard his speech to the tormentors and heard what he thought about her. That she could be better than what those jerks could ever hope to be. She had never openly received that kind of praise before, only being told that she was inferior to someone else at something. But then the vicious monster actually said something nice about her to the contrary.

Maybe Gaara wasn't all bad. If they were wrong about him being a completely heartless monster, then what else did everyone say about him that was also wrong?

If there was enough good in him to do that, then how much more was buried under the surface?

She felt a certain heat on her face that definitely didn't come from the desert heat and a felt a feeling inside that she couldn't quite identify.

Before she could think on the sensations further, a classmate caught up to her: "Oi, Matsuri. You alright?"

Matsuri turned and her thoughts drifted away from Suna's supposed local monster and over to her classmate: "Yes, I am fine Taiya-san. Just thinking about someone. Someone great."

The girl who possessed green hair named Taiya rose an eye brow at that statement's end but shrugged: "Whatever. Just thought I would ask because I saw those jerks picking on you again."

Matsuri bowed: "Thank you for being concerned enough to actually check up on me."

The green haired girl held up her hand: "No problem, but you don't have to be so stiff and formal all the time. Hell, if anything I should be considering who my mom is."

Matsuri nodded. "I don't think she would mind you being a little less…"

Taiya cut in and spoke: "Crude? Outspoken? Disrespectful?" she kept on running down the list.

Matsuri didn't know quite how to answer but eventually she said "Y-yes."

Taiya shrugged: "Eh, whatever. I don't care. Hey Matsuri, want to go get a bite to eat?"

Matsuri responded: "I would be happy to." Matsuri was happy because it seemed someone was noticing her but not so that they could torment her.

Taiya nodded: "Let's go."

Matsuri followed but was lost in thought: _'Today the village monster stood up for me and I think I made a friend in Taiya. I never thought my life would actually turn out this way. I think things are finally looking up for me. Gaara has a coldness to him that I have never experienced before and yet felt eerily similar to what I felt at the academy with no real friends, but I really want to help him. I know that he is supposed to be our Ichibi jinchuriki and that his father is the Kazekage but I really don't know who Gaara is beyond what he shows to everyone. That doesn't matter. I WILL find answers and I will never stop trying to reach through to him.' _

Matsuri went wide eyed and spoke to her new friend: "Taiya-san, do you know anything about what Gaara was like before he started killing people?"

Taiya nodded sadly. "Yeah, my mom used to take me to see him back when his uncle was still alive and took care of him. I was never close to him but I could tell something was tearing him apart. I only found out later that he had the Ichibi in him. He had always been killing people except early on it was just anyone who attacked him with the intent to kill him from what I heard, but then his uncle went crazy and attack the poor kid with the intent to kill him. He said something and it broke Gaara and then he started killing anyone who looked at him funny."

Matsuri's eyes went to the ground: "Oh."

Taiya asked: "Why the sudden interest in him?"

Matsuri's cheeks went slightly red before she responded: "Those three bullies who were harassing me earlier were scared off by him."

Taiya nodded: "Yeah I have heard about him doing stuff like that before."

Matsuri asked: "Do you think there is more to him then the killer he chooses to be?"

Taiya shrugged. "I don't know honestly. I would like to think that but everything shows that he has learned to enjoy bloodshed. But on the other hand you have stuff like him scaring off bullies and sparing some people that really make you wonder."

Matsuri spoke with determination: "I believe that he is more than a killer. More than a monster. I want to reach out and help to show it to everyone. His name means to be unloved by everyone except himself, but I want to prove it wrong."

Taiya stopped walking and looked Matsuri straight in the eye: "That is a tall order. After everything that has happened, I don't think Gaara wants to be helped, nor saved from what he has become. It might be impossible."

Matsuri met her gaze and spoke: "Maybe. But we won't know until I try. Even if I fail the first time I will try again, and again, and again, and so on until I have saved him or died trying."

The gaze held for what felt like a few minutes before Taiya started smiling: "If that's how you feel, then be my guest. Who knows, if that kind of iron clad determination is what you feel about this, then maybe, just maybe you might be able to reach through to him. I'll help how I can."

Matsuri smiled: "Thank you!"

Taiya nodded: "Sure, what are friends for."

And the two continued to walk through the streets of Suna.

Matsuri thought only one thing: _'I really have a friend now. Maybe reaching through to Gaara won't be as difficult as I thought it would be.'_

Xxx

_**Konoha**_

_**Hokage Tower**_

_**The Hokage's office**_

_**8 hours following the end of Daybreak**_

Within the cramped confines of the Hokage's office a gathering stood.

The Hokage, his advisors and former teammates Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, his head ANBU Guard which was Tenzo, and the Clan Heads, including the newly named Uchiha Mikoto.

The Uchiha Matriarch stood tall and calm despite the devastating losses she had just suffered earlier that day.

The Hokage spoke: "So, what was our losses?"

Koharu spoke: "Considering the suddenness of the attack and the damage that could have been done, they are not as bad as it could have been."

Homura spoke: "Very much so. However numbers must be stated. We lost almost 200 Uchiha Shinobi and with them, we lost our military police. Civilian casualties' number stood at about 60 last time I checked the confirmed ones. Most of the other clans suffered minor losses, about 15 to 20 each, not surprising if it was a distracting action. The Hyuga were hit slightly harder by the masked shinobi, we believe they were looking for someone or something rather than just trying to prevent attention to what they were really after. We have confirmed 30 active members of the Hyuga as casualties, but we should let the Hyuga head speak for the rest."

Koharu nodded, and the mass parted to let two figures through. However neither was Hiashi, it was Hitomi and Hizashi.

Hitomi spoke first: "We have confirmed the deaths of all members to our council of elders excluding Hideki due to being held in a remote secure holding cell till all possible operations he had authorized had been thoroughly investigated and all evidence for and against his involvement had been gathered and documented. I would explain why Hiashi is not here, but I believe the one who was there and witnessed it should explain."

Hizashi nodded: "Hiashi and I worked hard to expel the attackers from the compound and we were alerted by one of our clansmen to a group who had made it in but one was still amongst the living while the rest had been killed. We moved to where the girl said they were heading in the direction of and we found the council of elders dead, each one from a stab wound, but none that should be immediately lethal. We went on alert but the masked assassin managed to get the drop on us with the Hiding with Camouflage Jutsu. He stabbed Hiashi in the back with a kunai covered in a poison that I had never seen before. I managed to disable and kill him before he could get away. Hitomi found us and managed to purge most of the poison from her husband using her medical training."

Hitomi nodded and motioned to her brother in law that she would take it from here: "I managed to stabilize him enough to get Hiashi to the hospital for better treatment. One of the medics managed to fully purge the rest of the poison from Hiashi and identified it as a poison that the division had previously encountered and thanks to recent intelligence now had a name for: Nature's Fury. However a medic performed a full examination and said that the damage done to Hiashi's body is too much. He has been removed from all duties on medical order. They're saying that he might not be able to walk again, and that whatever damage the poison inflicted may have drastically shortened my husband's life span."

Hiruzen nodded: "That is sad to hear. I hope the medics are wrong in that regard. But moving back to Nature's Fury, that information is fairly recently gained intelligence. Nature's Fury is a rare and unique poison that does rapidly crippling damage to any creature who is not plant based in biology, and the poison doesn't affect plant life in the slightest. We have been aware of its existence for a while but one of our information dealers recently gave us the poison's name as well as other information on it. The poison's usage here has identified a key suspect as the organizer of the attack."

Koharu spoke: "How, might I ask, does the poison itself answer anything about who attacked us?"

Hiruzen nodded in acknowledgement: "Thanks to that information that Hisashi-san, the information seller in question, gave us information on where, or should I say who, the poison is manufactured by. The poison is made exclusively by a Shadow Nin Hisashi-san claimed existed and Jiraiya confirmed named Zetsu."

The group understood what Hiruzen meant by Shadow Nin, a Ninja who possessed no notable connections at least to undiscerning eyes, no confirmable location of origin and background, and was successful enough to keep their name out of the Bingo Book.

Homura spoke up: "Interesting but I don't see how the poison connects the attack to this Zetsu."

Hiruzen spoke again: "Zetsu is a rather unique individual. We don't know what is his full capabilities or his age, but information that Hisashi and Jiraiya have uncovered points to either him being very old or being a descendant in a family with very similar appearances and targets. Information ties either Zetsu himself or members of his family to the infamous Senju-Uchiha feud, riling it up when the things seemed to be approaching peaceful resolution."

Mikoto's eyes went wide but said nothing. Everyone else began muttering amongst themselves for a moment. Eventually Homura responded: "I'm assuming this is based on accounts that describe individuals with a similar appearance to this Shadow Nin?"

Hiruzen nodded: "You would be correct. But the poison is attached uniquely to Zetsu due to what we do know about his abilities. He possesses a command over plants very similar to Hashirama-sensei's Wood Release, allowing him to produce a viciously varied tool set. Nature's Fury has been confirmed as a poison created through his ability, and Zetsu does not sell his creations to buyers, he only uses them himself or gives it to anyone who does what we have reasonably deduced were jobs hired out by himself."

Koharu nodded: "If the poison doesn't attack plant life but does attack any other type of biology, then that would make complete sense. This Zetsu is dangerous, I suggest we put him in the Bingo Book."

Homura nodded as well: "Agreed, someone like this Zetsu is too dangerous to be allowed to walk freely. Do we have any clues as to any organizational ties he may possess?"

Hiruzen spoke: "Recent information regarding Zetsu has pointed toward him aligning with a Shadow Nin who goes by the alias Pain, who we believe originated from the Land of Rain. This Pain was noted to have built a mercenary unit named Akatsuki consisting of High A-Rank to S-Rank Missing Nin. Information sent to me recently has identified Five Heart Kakuzu, Sasori of the Red Sands, and Orochimaru as members of the organization."

Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara Clan and the Jonin Commander of the Village, sighed: "So these guys are some of the worst and most dangerous Missing Nin out there. Troublesome."

Hiruzen nodded: "Indeed. But one of the participants in the attack on our village was sighted wearing the organization's uniform: a black cloak embroidered with red clouds. He has been given the name Tobi by Shisui thanks to one the other attackers who survived saying his name. Shisui previously encountered him and discovered that he shares Obito's Kamui ability that allows him to phase through attacks. Tobi appeared at the Uchiha compound and aided in allowing two of the assassins to escape and we confirmed there that he also possesses Kamui's warping capability. Which means he is an Uchiha or he isn't one but he did steal an Uchiha's Sharingan that possessed the same Mangekyo ability as Obito. Shisui's information about Tobi's appearance from what they could discern with the cloak and mask obscuring him points to the idea that Tobi is a Rogue Uchiha."

Shikaku nodded: "Yep, this is definitely troublesome. We should alert our shinobi about what we can and put these men in the Bingo Book."

Hiruzen spoke: "I agree. I plan on putting Jiraiya on to the organization's trail and see if he can find any more about who is part of it before we start posting bounties. The more we know, the better prepared we will be, should they have been behind this, for the possibility of a second strike."

Everyone nodded.

Hiruzen went to speak before the door slammed open: "HOKAGE-SAMA!"

A ninja stood knelt over breathing hard. They waited for him to catch his breath, then he spoke: "A small girl and a young woman just arrived at the gates. They were wearing protectors bearing the symbol of Takigakure. They handed me a letter and claimed it was for you and that they had bad news."

Hiruzen asked: "Did they tell you what it was?"

The gate guard nodded: "They did and if it is true then today just got worse. They said the letter explained everything. It is better if you read it rather than have me explain what they told me."

Hiruzen nodded and took the message and began reading. Before long he let out a weary sigh and spoke: "Damn. This makes today even worse than I thought it could be."

Homura spoke: "What does it say Hiruzen?" sensing that his friend needed his teammate, not his advisor.

Hiruzen sighed and then spoke: "It was written to us by Shibuki-dono. According to this letter, Taki spotted a Missing Nin army heading towards them over 2 weeks ago being led by Kakuzu and Hidan of the Jashin, both wearing Akatsuki's uniform. Shibuki figured out that they were planning on destroying Taki and retrieving their Jinchuriki. The little girl he sent with one of his jonins, is the Jinchuriki that the two Akatsukis were sent after. He denied them their full victory and sacrificed himself and his village to buy them time to get here safely and undetected."

Koharu spoke: "Taki's loss will be hard to get past, especially after what has happened today. But with its final hour, they denied their opponents complete victory. Let us remember that."

Everyone agreed with the sentiment.

Hiruzen spoke: "We will be taking Fu and Kagome into our village. Any opposed?"

No one said anything other than agreement with his decision.

Hiruzen continued: "Very well, they shall be allowed to join us. But I must inform you all of something."

Everyone, including the gate guard looked at the Hokage.

The Sarutobi continued: "Minato's final act as Hokage was to place an order forbidding the release of any information regarding Jinchuriki we create or gain to the public, to protect the Jinchuriki from the harsh, unforgiving treatment that all who bare a Biju within get for it. Fu's status is not to leave this room, and should any of you figure out who the other Jinchuriki are, you are bound by the order to not allow that information to spread or affect your treatment of them. Even I am bound by it. The punishment is death and he has people loyal to that order ready to kill any who defy it, with only his students having the authority to dissuade them."

Shikaku's eyes went wide: "But that would mean…"

Hiruzen nodded: "Yes, the Kyubi was sealed into a new Jinchuriki. Minato's final order holds. I have no power to overturn it and am subject to the penalty should I defy it. Only his students hold that authority."

Everyone who didn't already know about both the order and who the Jinchuriki were understood the gravity of the situation.

Hiruzen looked towards the gate guard: "You are dismissed, return to your post. And tell the ANBU to have the two brought here."

The man nodded and did so.

Hiruzen spoke: "Now if there is any…"

"HOKAGE-SAMA!" _'What now?' _Hiruzen thought in dread.

A Konoha Jonin wearing the uniform given to guards to the maximum security ward of the Prison rushed in: "DANZO'S GONE!"

'_Shit.' _Hiruzen and everyone else in the room thought.

"How did that happen? Danzo's chakra was sealed." Aburame Shibi spoke in his usual monotone of voice, but those who knew him best could hear his tells for confusion and surprise slipping in.

"There was no sign of forced entry or exit but a sensor did a sweep of the facility and found excess chakra from the usage of a jutsu in a path through walls and doors starting from the outside and ending at Danzo's cell where a similar but ultimately different molding was detected inside the cell. That was how we found out about it." The prison guard explained.

Hiruzen let his head drop: "It was most likely Tobi making use of Kamui to sneak in and extract Danzo during the chaos. Damn."

Shikaku spoke: "Unless Danzo's corpse shows up in the next few days, I suggest we put him in the Bingo Book as well."

"Agreed. If that is everything, then we will adjourn for now." That was all Hiruzen said to the group.

Everyone except Tenzo left.

Hiruzen spoke: "I know you're here. You don't have to hide now."

What followed was Obito walking out of the wall next to them.

Obito tried to smirk but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, not surprising considering the day that had just happened: "How long did it take to notice me?"

Hiruzen answered: "Longer than I would have liked. Am I going to die for what I said?"

Obito shook his head tiredly: "I think telling them about it to prepare for the eventuality of the secret coming out is a good call. Minato-sensei put those rules in place to protect them, but the secrecy they provide now is not going to last forever. We have to hope that cooler heads will prevail. I think that considering that it has been almost eight and a half years since the attack, I think they have cooled down considerably. I think that it will be far better to have told them now that we have had time to recover and let the deepest wounds begin to heal than having told them that night with all that devastation and carnage fresh in their minds."

Hiruzen nodded after a moment of consideration: "Perhaps you're right."

Obito looked as though he had something to say so Hiruzen motioned for him to speak.

Obito nodded and spoke: "I caught you say that the letter mentioned that Taki sent one of their jonins with Fu and I know I heard you say her name was Kagome. It wouldn't happen to Kowinaga Kagome, right?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes that is who the letter identified Fu's escort as. I know you ran into her a few years ago and unless I'm mistaken she is Kagome of the Waterfall's Searing Mists."

Obito responded: "If it is Kowinaga Kagome, then yes she is on both parts."

Hiruzen spoke: "I'm assuming that you will vouch for her?"

Obito nodded: "Yes. From what I observed of her when I met on that mission, she seemed to be the type who wouldn't try to pull some of Kumo's kidnapping shit. I don't think she is here to do anything like that. If Taki has been destroyed, she will probably seek to join our forces to ensure that what happened there won't happen again here."

Hiruzen nodded after some thought: "I'll take that into consideration. I assume you will be wanting to take a look at Fu's seal, yes?"

Obito nodded with a serious expression on his face: "I haven't heard anything from Jiraiya-sama about an out control Jinchuriki in Taki because of a bad seal, like the one down in Suna, but considering how well Taki was at keeping secrets we might want to take a look to be safe."

Hiruzen nodded and decided to prod that topic that had just been mentioned: "Do you think the one in Suna will be a problem in the future?"

Obito scratched the back of his head: "I don't know, it depends on how well we stay on with Suna. But if they sent him here for the Chunin Exams, I would heavily question their intent if they hadn't realized their mistake and rectified it."

Hiruzen nodded: "And anything for off the record?"

Obito nodded: "If I ran into him on a mission and I get too bad a feel off of how he's acting, I'm going to knock him out and see how badly they fucked up the seal."

Hiruzen nodded: "I would not condone such an action against our ally but, after everything Jiraiya has reported on this Gaara, I would not condemn such an action as unnecessary." Then Hiruzen noticed the document Obito was reading over in his hands.

"May I ask what that is?" the old Hokage asked.

Obito looked up from it and responded: "It was something me and Kakashi drew up with Tenzo after Danzo went down. Danzo built that massive subterranean compound for ROOT beneath the village, right?"

Hiruzen nodded then Obito spoke again: "The document is a proposal to repurpose it for use by the village proper."

Tenzo spoke at that moment: "That's my proposal to convert the ROOT compound into a hiding place in the case of an invasion, use as a facility to keep people from being detected by spies in the village proper, or to serve as either a hiding place and secure location in case of similar circumstances as the night of the Kyubi attack while having the full might of the village to protect us in case someone tries to break in or barracks for people we need to keep separate from the village for safety reasons. The one you, Kakashi-sempai, and I worked together to write up. Hell, the very bottom of the facility is an incredibly large room covered in seals that we can only assume was meant to dump a Biju into using some kind of summons or teleportation method and the seals in the room suppress its power until it could be sealed. The amount of design consideration that went into the compound allows for quite a few uses."

The old Hokage thought it over and nodded at the intelligence of the idea. "I could see repurposing the ROOT compound to be used like that. The problem would be trying to set up a cover for the entrance hatch, as well as making additional exits for the case of emergencies."

Obito and Tenzo both nodded. "That was why we ended up shelving the idea." Obito responded.

Hiruzen began rubbing his chin while he thought about the information: "Perhaps, in light of today's events, we should begin considering it."

Tenzo spoke up: "I heard that Teuchi-san was looking to upgrade from a stall to a full restaurant. We could sell the lot to him and give him certain exemptions in exchange for his restaurant serving as the cover for the bunker's primary entrance."

Both the Hokage and Obito agreed with the idea but after a moment Obito stared at him: "I didn't know you ate at Ichiraku's. I eat there a lot, especially because of Naruto, and I have never seen you there."

Tenzo shrugged: "Eh, only eat there occasionally. Decent, cheap food and excellent in case something happened and I'm short on Ryo. Can't argue with that."

Both Hiruzen and Obito both conceded that point to the ANBU. Obito responded: "Unless you're feeding a bottomless pit, in which case even their prices won't save your wallet."

Hiruzen and Tenzo both chuckled at that one.

At that moment, ANBU appeared escorting the pair that they had been talking about.

Fu of Taki, the youngest of the pair, had tanned skin, amber eyes with no pupils, and mint green hair cut short. She wore white clothes and a red cylindrical backpack. Tied on her arm was a forehead protector for Taki.

Kowinaga Kagome, the eldest of the pair and identified in the bingo book by the title Kagome of the Waterfall's Searing Mists, had lightly tanned skin, emerald green eyes, and light blue hair at mid neck length. She wore a modified version of her village's standard uniform with everything that came with it. Her forehead protector was tied around her head.

Kagome of the Waterfall's Searing Mists was an interesting person, in depth information about her and what she could do was an open secret that Taki managed to cover quite well with few details slipping out. Possessing a bloodline that did not originate from any clan in Taki and making use of it so masterfully and skillfully despite only having herself to train it and reverse engineering any techniques for it she encountered, as well as using it just subtly enough in open situations that plausible deniability could be factored in. Her mastery of Water Release and Fire Release made her a force anyone would think twice about taking head on.

Then there was who she was trained by: Hana the Ant-Lion, one of Taki's former ANBU captains who made her name known with skillful use of Trap based Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Fuinjutsu. Encountering her in any battlefield that she prepared was suicide, and even those ambushing her had to be cautious of the traps she could place at a moment's notice. Her title was reflective of her dangerousness when faced on her turf, like it was for an ant-lion's prey to wander into their pit.

While Kagome preferred a far more direct approach, she learned how to approach a fight like her sensei had before her death on a mission 8 years ago.

Obito and Kogome had met before, 2 years ago while Obito had briefly taken up a genin squad consisting of Aburame Torune, Yamanaka Fu, and the ROOT boy Shin.

It was a c-rank that got upgraded to a-rank that ended with a few Ame Missing Nin being killed while their employer, a Taki Missing Nin named Suien, managed to escape.

Obito spoke: "Hey Kagome."

Kagome nodded her head: "Obito-san, it is good to see you again." The young woman spoke with a near monotone in a slow measured way. One that did not indicate a lack of intelligence but rather an intelligence that made sure that every word that was spoken had the intended meaning to it.

Hiruzen spoke: "Greetings Kagome-san, Fu-chan. I wish the circumstances for our meeting were better than they are."

Fu's eyes communicated so much fear but she nodded.

Kagome spoke: "Yes indeed, Hiruzen-sama. But I must insist that we focus on the matter at hand."

Hiruzen sighed: "Your immigration and integration into Konoha has already been accepted. No one disagreed with my decision."

Kagome allowed a small and warm smile to get on her lips. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

Fu made her appreciation known as well, except hers was expressed as a massive hug. _'Fu has impressive strength for one so young.'_ Hiruzen thought to himself after the girl released her hug.

Obito spoke here: "However, we would like to know a few things. First off, do either one of you possess the Seal's key and second off, are you willing to allow us to take a look at the seal as precautionary measure?"

Kagome answered: "Fu possesses the key, but the seal does not allow her to access it until she is ready to. It is locked within the seal itself. I don't know how or when it will determine she is ready. Second off, no I do not mind. If I were in your position I would do the same."

They moved to an examination room where Obito went to work.

After a while, the Uchiha spoke: "Impressive, whoever made this knew what they were doing. It looks like the Nanabi isn't actively trying to escape so her seal's integrity is excellent with some minor degradation over the years due to the Biju's chakra. I don't know if her Biju's mind is inactive or not but if it is active yet not trying to escape, then we have no real problem."

Hiruzen smiled: "That's good to hear. Obito, lead them to the apartment complex near the village square, they already had a few apartments available to rent. Why don't you take Fu here to meet the others tomorrow, I'm sure they will enjoy her company."

Obito smiled: "Of course." He turned to the two girls: "Follow me." Before they left Kagome handed two storage scrolls to the old Hokage.

Obito asked: "What's in those?"

Kagome answered: "The Jutsu Scroll from Taki in one and in the other is Taki's Forbidden Scroll, The Scroll of the Cursed Fall, which includes the knowledge of how to activate one our most fearsome techniques: the Earth Grudge Fear."

Obito went Pale: "My suggestion: put that scroll where no-one will find it. Don't even store it with our Forbidden Scroll, the Scroll of Sealing. Lock it up tight and in a spot no one will look. Make the fact that we have it an S-class secret and then carry on as though we never got it."

Hiruzen nodded: "I whole-heartedly agree with that sentiment Obito."

Then the three began walking and left.

Hiruzen sighed. So far no response from Hisashi regarding the letter they found on the old Hokage's desk. It was addressed to the shadow wielder and trap and ordinance inspections determined that the letter contained no form of trap nor explosive. They attempted to read the letter and found it was written in characters that they couldn't read but Hiruzen recognized from some of his time around the shadow wielder. He hoped that the man would be able to discover the message's meaning. The letter had been sent to him using a hawk trained to find the elusive spymaster.

Hopefully it would find him soon.

_**Land of Iron**_

_**A village on the outskirts**_

Kageyami Hisashi had literally just sat down in an open air bar to get a drink when the hawk had found him.

The town he was in was the last stop he needed to make, holding the last operation authorized by that old Hyuga fuck Hideki.

He had made a detour to the Iron capital to get the man's report, it held a degree of importance considering how high up the man was in this nation.

He pulled both messages out of the hawk's holder, seeing that they both held the kanjis for his name.

Then he opened the first message and took a few swallows of his drink before he began reading what was written on the paper.

_Hisashi,_

_I don't know where you are nor how long it will take this Hawk to find you._

_It doesn't matter. Konoha was invaded today. Those who survived and fought back against our attackers indicate that the invaders possessed the Sharingan and a large chunk of them possessed a Mangekyo that had a particularly powerful ability that allowed them to take control of those who made eye contact with them. The ability worked 100 percent of the time when used against Uchihas with activated Sharingans, but was unable to work on any who possessed a Mangekyo. Anyone else and the jutsu had a low chance of working on. The control also shattered if the hijacked were forced do actions that resulted in an awakened Mangekyo._

_But that is beside the point, Hisashi, the Uchiha have been almost completely wiped out. Only 6 remain._

_I don't have evidence to point either you or Jiraiya to a trail to begin searching, but we have confirmed that an Akatsuki member was part of the attack, one that goes by Tobi. He possesses Kamui just like Obito._

_After the attack we discovered a message left by one of the invaders. Cryptology couldn't decipher but I have an intuition that says you will be able to._

_Once you're done with investigating Hideki's dealings, I ask you to return to Konoha._

_Sarutobi Hiruzen._

'_Hmm, so that is how they bite it here. Wonder what is in the other message?' _Hisashi thought to himself as he began thinking of what to write for a reply.

He put that message in his pocket and pulled out a pen and paper for a response before he opened up the next message.

He began reading while taking a drink, until he recognized why Konoha's Cryptology couldn't decipher the message.

The shadow wielder choked on his drink and did a spit take once he realized that the message was written in a code he knew extremely well.

"HOW THE FUCKING HELL DID THEY GET A MESSAGE WRITTEN IN THIS?!" he screamed.

He read the letter and it changed some things but he needed to get answers on what happened and how they had gotten it.

He quickly wrote a response to the old Hokage and before giving it to the messenger hawk and sending it off.

The enigmatic spymaster turned his drink up and chugged it down before paying his tab, rushing to the inn and cancelling his reservations, and began travelling as fast as he possibly could to Konoha.

It would risk blowing his cover that he had to maintain by the order of his superiors; their code of observing from the shadows, fighting from within the darkness of obscurity until their presence in the light was well and truly needed, primarily by solving problems quietly or by dealing information to those who needed it; but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Something was already fucked up and something or someone had been messing around directly in these parts with how things were progressing and now a message encryption code he helped write had been used to write a message to him. A code that no-one around these parts should have had the knowledge to write in.

Hisashi would be in Konoha in 2 weeks. Answers _**would**_ be taken.

_**Back in Konoha**_

_**The streets of the village outside the Hokage's Tower **_

As the three made their way to where the old Hokage had asked Obito to take their new village residents, the Uchiha and the two former Takis were passed by a few civilians who were talking.

Kagome was unable to figure out what they were talking about and was unable to pick up enough pieces of the conversation to figure it out.

But she looked over at Obito whose face began dropping from the tired smile to a frown as his head dropped and a shadow covered his eyes as he moved them towards the ground.

Kagome could hear just a little bit from the end of his mumblings in response to whatever he heard them talking about:_"…dammit, even after all these years it turns out that I'm still stuck in your shadow."_

Kagome looked at him began wondering what could cause a reaction like this, it almost seemed like a different person from the Obito who she remembered.

Kagome spoke up to try to get Obito focused on another subject: "Obito-san, what did the Hokage mean by others like Fu?" she dropped her voice low: "Do you have other Jinchuriki as well?"

Obito's mood shifted back to his usual more relaxed demeanor before he nodded: "Yeah, three in fact. Two of which are her age. Those two don't know yet, I was going to wait a few years before telling them, but today changed things. Right now I'm waiting for things to calm down enough to tell them and for the gravity of it to really sink in. Does Fu know exactly what she is?"

Kagome shook her head: "I don't think so. She knows that she is a Jinchuriki and that is something you don't tell to strangers but I don't think she understands beyond that."

Before the conversation could go any further, something caused a shiver to run down the Uchiha's spine and led Obito to instinctively react to it by triggering Kamui and phasing. A mere moment later, a green blur slammed through him and straight into Kagome, knocking her to the ground.

Then the blur spoke in an incredibly loud voice: "OH THANK GOODNESS THE VILLAGE IS STILL STANDING AND I FOUND YOU OBITO-KUN!"

Obito instinctively covered his ears to protect them from the sound before responding: "Hey Gai you missed the attack. You probably would have helped out a lot. By the way you knocked Kagome over."

Gai looked over and saw the young woman who had been knocked to the ground by his entrance. "I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT TAKI-SAN!" before he dropped his voice to a more appreciable level. "I apologize if I hurt you." He said bowing his bowl cut head.

Kagome looked as though she was trying to process what all happened and the man in front of her before she responded: "It's alright…Gai-san I believe. I have been hit by far worse. I'm Kowinaga Kagome."

Gai nodded in understanding: "Pleasure to meet you, I am Maito Gai. Now I must leave you, for the Hokage needs the report of my mission! Until next time we meet!"

Gai left before Kagome spoke to Obito: "He's strange but there is a certain endearing quality to it."

Obito nodded: "Yeah Gai is like that, he can be annoying but you know that he only wants the best for everyone and the village and there is something that makes it so you can't be completely angry at him. Plus he knows his shit when it comes to taijutsu. He's alright in my book."

They walked for a while before Kagome spoke on something she had observed: "I heard that your clan was a major part of the village and formed its military police, but I don't see any."

Obito grimaced: "Yeah the attack earlier killed the majority of them. We went from just over 200 down to just 6."

Kagome closed her eyes: "That's horrible. But what will happen to the military police?"

Obito responded: "Yeah, it is. My aunt Mikoto is now in charge of the clan and the police by default and she is trying to get measures passed to reorganize the whole thing, take it from a single clan to anyone who wants to join kinda thing. They were already working on it before the attack happened and now there is going to be a real push from a larger faction to make it so. A lot of traditionalist who hold a similar mindset as the Second Hokage have been pushing against it because it would mean that Uchihas who want to take other positions of power besides within the Military Police and as jonin-senseis would be free to do so. Now that only six are left, they are left with either continuing to resist which would risk major public backlash, trying to allow it but have it altered so that Uchihas are still restricted and risk public backlash as well, or allow the measure my aunt is pushing to pass in its untampered state and finally letting Tobirama-sama's distrust of the Uchiha to be laid to rest."

Kagome asked: "Does any of your remaining clansmen want to be part of the military police?"

Obito shook his head: "I do not know honestly. Maybe Mikoto but I don't know about anyone else."

Obito decided to take the conversation another way: "So, are you planning on getting an apartment with Fu?"

Kagome shook her head: "I know about a rule that is in place here in Konoha regarding shinobi teams so I'm probably going to get two separate apartment, one for me and one for her, that are next door to each other."

Obito's mind raced as he tried to figure out the hidden meaning to what she said: "You're trying to circumvent the rule we have here, but Taki didn't have, that states that no family or legal guardian is allowed to be the Jonin-sensei to a genin."

Kagome nodded: "I would still see her expenses paid for, but yes."

Obito cracked a smile: "That's ingenious. Oh man that is a loop hole we never thought of. You're not going to sign on as her legal guardian while still technically serving as it. That is a loophole that only works because of circumstance. And once you're comfortably passed anything that could disrupt it, then you would have her move in with you or something."

Kagome spoke: "That is generally the idea. Teach her some self-sufficiency while still being close enough for her to ask for help. You won't have my work around patched, will you?"

Obito looked at her: "Me? Nah. I don't think anyone should be punished for outsmarting the system on anything unless it is something completely fucked up. But I have to point out that the rule was made to prevent partiality."

Kagome spoke: "I care for Fu but I know to separate my personal feelings from my better judgement."

Obito nodded: "I don't doubt that one bit Kagome, but I'm just saying. You might want to get it cleared up with the Hokage first though."

So they continued walking.

The young Fu's mind wondered about the village that was going to be her and Kagome's new home: _'I hope it won't always be on fire, but the people here seem really nice. I hope there's lots of cool bugs here.'_

A voice inside her mind answered: **I don't think the fires are permanent, we heard that they had been attacked earlier, and the people here seem wonderful. Bugs are extremely plentiful here and I hear that a clan around these parts even hosts a few types of parasitic insects within their bodies.**

Fu smiled: _'I hope it's true Chomei. It would be amazing to meet one of them, maybe one will be in my academy class when I join. Maybe one will be my teammate when I graduate.'_

At that moment in the Aburame clan compound, the clan heir Shino sneezed.

Fu could hear Chomei's voice as far back as she could remember. He had been there for her when the few who actually cared for her hadn't been able to. She didn't blame them, Chomei helped her understand that they had duties to attend to. But he helped her learn with what he could. She believed he was an imaginary friend but some of the things he claimed he knew and was right about made her think otherwise. If he was real then that would be a shocker but if he wasn't then that would be a shock as well, he was just a one bizarre figment of her imagination. She tried to ask him about it once and he kind off dodged the question. Fu was sure he had his reasons because Chomei was always so honest with her.

But, unknown to the little girl, her imaginary friend was quite real.

Chomei was the name of the Biju sealed inside of her: The Nanabi no Kabutomushi, the Seven Tailed Rhinoceros Beetle.

Chomei, unlike the rest of his siblings, had never given up on humanity, not entirely. He was disappointed, but he still held hope that they would be able to reach Hagoromo-tou-san's dream. When that descendant of Indra, an Uchiha, began checking the seal, Chomei panicked. He knew they wouldn't actively try to hurt Fu but he was scared that they would notice his mind being awake and active before questioning Fu about hearing a voice only she could hear, her loyalty to Kagome would have her tell them about her not-so Imaginary Friend, the alarming details would point to Chomei speaking to her rather than just an overactive imagination, and then they would out him to Fu which would ruin how he wanted to reveal himself to her.

Chomei was able to regain composure and immediately emptied his mind of all thoughts and went completely still, trying his best to pretend to be asleep. He didn't know if the Uchiha could detect his mental presence, but he didn't chance it with his reaction. If he did possess those capabilities, then Chomei's quick reaction worked and he wasn't detected. He knew that the seal would be alright, Chomei wasn't actively trying to escape, even if his chakra was still degrading the seal. He knew the world was a dangerous place for a Biju to wander and even if men no longer held power like those who were inheritors to Indra and Ashura, like Madara and Hashirama respectively. Even if Ninja of their caliber were no longer common, it didn't change the fact that men with the power and skill to face down a walking force of nature like the Biju still existed.

Chomei found his thoughts wondering to how he wanted to reveal himself to Fu. He wanted to keep talking and encouraging her until he risked being exposed, most likely due to Fu being told what a Jinchuriki was and what came with it. Once that had happened he would go silent, only speaking occasionally to remove any suspicion about being Nanabi. Once Fu had entered the mindscape and his prison, then he would part the veil.

Before he could develop his thoughts further, he began to sense somethings that he hadn't sensed in a very long time: _**Wait, is that… it is! Isobu! And I sense Matatabi as well! And even Kurama! So that was who they were talking about. But it seems that Mata-nee and Kura-nii seem to be mentally dormant. **_

Chomei's heart went at ease, knowing he was among family once more.

Xxx

_**The Land of Ancestors**_

_**9 hours following the Retreat order.**_

Moyo knew exactly what was about to happen. Zetsu was about to chew out the one subordinate who survived but fled before the retreat order was given.

The Subordinate in question, Mai, stood at the center of the room with both Moyo and Kudo in there off to the side.

All three had their masks off. Cause of this it was easy to see that Mai had been blinded in her left eye due to Izanagi. Other than her blinded eye, she had an attractive face with relatively soft features and neck length spikey black hair. The only scar on her face was one that bisected her right eyebrow. Overall, normal humans might consider her "pretty."

Mai had awoken her Mangekyo in an impressive time, but she preferred not to use it, choosing instead to rely more on her other skills far more. Considering her skill with the Genjutsu Sharingan, Fire Release, and the kusarigama she wielded, it seemed to be a smart choice.

Moyo had relatively plain features, with the only stand out being large scratch scars that ran across his face from the encounter with the monster years ago when it got in a shot and dragged it's claw across his face. He refused to have the damaged tissue removed and replaced. It was the injury that killed the fatalist pawn he used to be and birthed the revolutionary he was now.

However, out of the three hybrids, Kudo was the most horrible looking. His face was covered in deep gashes that refused to fully heal and numerous scars that ran deep in his skin. His cheeks were gone in some places, exposing the muscles hidden in them in some places and in others the inside of his mouth. One eye had damaged muscle tissue hanging over it and appeared to be clouded and blinded with his sharingan off, but it was revealed as functioning with it on. Starting at the right side of his chin and running down the right side of his lower jaw was a jagged third degree burn scar that went down his throat and onto his chest. It was fitting in a way, the most monstrous of the hybrids had the most horrifying appearance.

The white half had a distinct scowl on his face rather than his usual unnerving grin. "What happened?"

Mai responded while trying to keep her voice even: "The target was further skilled than expected. She detected the one assigned as her tail and created three shadow clones and sent them off. He chose to continue following her until the target body flickered away to a training ground that her clones prepared ahead of time. Koro engage…"

Before she could speak further, Zetsu's black half's expression got angry and he cut her off: **"We already heard the report you gave about what happened! We were asking as in why couldn't you grab her before she started using her Biju's power?! She was tired from fighting your brother and then you had a perfect opportunity to knock her out and take her away and YOU FUCKED IT UP!"**

Mai's composure shook and she looked at the ground. Zetsu's white half continued: "Had you teamed up on her with your brother, we might have been able to grab the Sanbi Jinchuriki. But your lust for fighting and battle gave her an opportunity to fight back and escape our clutches. Your failure has delayed the return of Kaguya-Hime-Sama. We had high hopes for you after how useful you proved yourself. It seems that we were misguided." His voice was contaminated with a tone of cold burning rage.

Moyo felt a slight twinge of guilt for his part, he knew she loved to fight and would have taken a chance to fight over quietly subduing her target. He buried it alongside everything he regretted in the name of freeing his clan.

Black Zetsu spoke up again: **"This is your first major failure on a mission, so we are willing to overlook it as long as you ensure that it never happens again. You are a tool for us to use as we see fit, but your failure today has damaged you and your use. Next time will break you and you understands what happens to broken tools, they are disposed of. You are dismissed to get that eye replaced. Any punishment Moyo assigns will stick. Anything Kudo decides to do to you will not be punished either."**

Mai nodded sullenly while Moyo mentally scowled. This very manipulative abuse was what he hated the most about Zetsu. He turned his attention to Mai and saw that her expression was mostly neutral but Zetsu's dressing down had affected her and her sadness was breaking through. Her face wasn't red, but he could see tears running down her cheeks. But his blood ran cold with Zetsu giving Kudo free reign to do what he wanted to her.

Zetsu exited the compound and left using Mayfly.

Kudo walked towards Mai with a smile on his scarred and deformed face that made Moyo sick: "Well, well, well. Little, perfect Mai-chan finally went and proved that she wasn't perfect. Hahahaha! I don't think Zetsu-sama will mind if I, shall we say, make the point known with a little punishment from me." The tone of voice made it clear what his intended punishment for her was, with the amount of malevolent glee that was overflowing in the sentence, and Moyo felt his fists curl hard.

'_Mai is one of the last remaining Black Flames alongside Kudo. She did her best and came back with valuable intel on Nohara Rin's capabilities and what she got in return was a brutal dressing down and thrown to an insane and horribly disfigured psychopath who refuses to die on a suicide mission to do with her whatever the hell he wants. I know the things that Kudo has done. He needs to be punished for his actions, not encouraged to keep on doing them. The only reason Kudo even listens to Zetsu is because that bastard allows him to do what he wants and avoid punishment for it. Mai may be one of my enemies but she deserves better treatment than being thrown to this lunatic and told he can do whatever the hell he wants to her!' _ Moyo thought as he began reaching to draw his weapon and strike.

Kudo's smile grew even more evil and unnerving as he got close to Mai and stroked his hand across her cheek. The shock in Mai's eyes became apparent and communicated that she realized what he was wanting to do with her. And fear that she couldn't stop it.

Despite it, she pulled out a small folding metal weapon and used it to punch the insane hybrid. The psychopath's eyes lit up with rage and pain as he activated his Sharingan while snarling.

Mai stood firm as she activated her one functioning Sharingan, any fear that was communicated by the look in it previously was gone, and unfolded the weapon she held to reveal it as a small, handheld fan with steel for its internal structure.

Kudo roared as he went to attack his would be victim in retaliation.

Moyo hesitated and almost holstered his weapon seeing as Mai was holding her own and was doing well against the enraged psychopath, but a voice of caution spoke up and warned him to stand ready.

That caution was proven warranted when Kudo managed to land a strong punch to Mai's stomach followed by slamming her into the wall while she was stunned.

"FUCKING HELL YOU LITTLE BITCH! Do you have any goddamned idea how bad the scars on my face fucking hurt when someone hits me there?!" Kudo screamed as he began lifting his hand to deliver another punch, while he switched to his Mangekyo and began generating the shadow doubles.

Before Kudo could go any further, Moyo struck. He threw his blade out and nailed Kudo in the shoulder of his dominant hand.

Kudo screamed in Pain: "AHH! FUCK!" before his screaming intensified when Moyo grabbed a hold of the chain that tethered the blade to his gauntlet and put a great amount of strength in his arm as he pulled the insane hybrid towards him before grabbing Kudo by the neck and using his free hand to retrieve the blade of his weapon from Kudo's shoulder.

Kudo had murder in his eyes and a scowl that looked horrifying on his deformed face as he loudly bellowed: "FUCKING EVERYTIME MOYO! ONE OF THESE FUCKING DAYS, I AM GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" the shadow that formed around him flickered to reflect it's master's rage.

Moyo spoke calmly: "Maybe someday, but not today. You will not touch Mai. You will give her the respect she is owed. If I ever hear about you trying to rape her or another one of our fellow hybrids again or anyone else for that matter, you will be terminated, like you should have been years ago. Now run along, but be aware that you will be given a punishment for this incident to show that I mean it when I say that I. AM. DONE. WITH. THIS. NONSENSE. Do you understand?"

Kudo screamed but gave a begrudging affirmation before he stalked off.

Mai looked at Moyo with wide eyes: "Why?" she asked just barely above a whisper. "Why did you do that? I know about your rebellion against Zetsu and you were trying to have me killed with the rest of the Black Flames. Why did you choose to help me when you could have left me to suffer?"

Moyo answered: "No one deserves to be treated like he was going to do to you. Any animal who would do that to another human, I don't care if we're not entirely human, any animal who would do what he was about to do to you to another sentient being, be the aggressor my ally and the victim my enemy, is pest to be culled."

Mai stared for a moment and her cheeks went red. A gentle, thankful smile made its way onto her lips as she nodded: "Thank you." Before going silent and the coloring in her cheeks started gradually returning to normal.

"You're welcome. Is something wrong?" Moyo questioned her.

Mai responded: "No, not really. Just thinking about some things. And wondering why it took so long to figure out somethings."

Moyo raised an eyebrow, wondering if it had anything to do with a certain abusive creator.

Moyo said nothing and grabbed both of their masks and handed Mai hers.

To his surprise, she immediately channeled Fire Release chakra to her mouth, spitting out a small tongue of flames which lit the mask on fire, destroying it.

Moyo questioned: "Why did you do that?"

Mai responded: "That mask belonged to Mai of the Black Flames, the Servant of Zetsu, who died when Nohara Rin plunged her chakra cloak's claw through my chest and killed me after I set up a time delayed Izanagi. Mai of the Black Flames was buried and had any chance of return destroyed just moments ago by Zetsu and Kudo. In her place, after I returned to life from the genjutsu taking effect and erasing my death, is now Makayu Mai."

Moyo smiled: "Welcome among friends and family Makayu Mai. Let's go get Yaku to replace that eye and then get you a more fitting mask." Mai nodded.

They exited the room and were greeted by a relatively short woman wearing a mask colored green and brown in a pattern that resembled stitching and had the kanji for "Together" written on her mask: "Moyo-sama, I was wondering what took you so long to exit with Mai-san after Kudo left the room screaming. I thought that maybe you…"

Moyo interrupted her: "There is no need to hide information from Mai now, Ashi. She is one of us."

Ashi nodded: "That's good to hear, Mai. I'll have a new mask for her ready once Yaku-san is done with her."

Mai nodded: "Thank you."

Ashi nodded: "Think nothing of it. I'm just glad that we didn't have to kill all of the remaining Black Flames, I'm happy that we managed to save one and bring them into our rebellion."

Moyo nodded: "Do get a mask ready. Also assign Kudo to the scouting mission to the Desert of Pits."

Ashi spoke: "Another suicide mission? Are we going to hope the creatures that make their nest in the heart of that part of the Land of Wind's Wind Desert will finally put that deformed psychopath down or are we going to chance it with one of our own going to make sure Kudo dies and risk getting exposed?"

Moyo spoke: "No assassins sent behind him, but do not let that shoulder wound I just gave him be treated. It lowers his chances of surviving the Summons that make their nest there. If he somehow survives tell him to send a message ahead of him informing us of his return and I will see him dealt with. It is time that the Black Flames sizzle out so that Makayu can truly begin. Though speaking of assassins being sent, if Kage happens to return and you see them, tell them to come find me."

"As you wish Moyo-sama." Ashi said with a bow before she left.

The two survivors of the Daybreak attack traversed towards stairs and found themselves in the lower reaches of the compound where a unique plant sat: the Makahana.

"Yaku, we need a replacement eye." Moyo called out to one of the men.

The man in question, wearing a white mask with a red Kanji for "Medicine" inscribed on it with eye holes that had lenses built into them, turned around and faced the duo. Mai's lack of a mask told far more than words could in a moment. "Take her to the room where we do that in." He said, with a noticeable warmth to his voice.

Moyo took her to a room built next to the plant. In the room was an offshoot of the Makahana. Moyo assisted Mai in getting on the table below the bud of the plant and soon Yaku joined them.

"Lost an eye from Izanagi usage?" more of a statement then a question from Yaku.

Mai nodded. Yaku responded: "I need to extract the eye to produce an exact genetic copy of the part using the Makahana's bud. Do you want an anesthetic, a local, or are you one of the tough ones who would try to bare through it?"

Mai responded: "I would say tough it out but I'll take the local. I don't want Kudo getting any ideas while I'm out."

Yaku looked at Moyo disbelievingly: "Why haven't you just slit that lunatic's throat yet?"

Moyo shrugged: "Harder to deflect suspicion with that."

"…fair enough. But seriously Mai, I recommend that you take the anesthetic, this is going to be excruciatingly painful, enough that a local really isn't going to cut it. We have done a similar extraction and replacement before due to extreme overuse of a Mangekyo, and the patient tried to tough it out and almost died from the pain alone." Yaku said in follow up.

Moyo spoke up: "Kudo won't be a problem, he will be going on a scouting mission in the Land of Wind and hopefully he will not be returning. You will have plenty of time to wake up and get the drug's effects out of your system if somehow he manages to survive and return. I suggest you take it."

Mai's cheeks reddened slightly for a moment and she gave in: "Alright, fine."

Yaku nodded as he began giving the dose to Mai through an IV he had inserted.

"Have you begun considering any candidates for the experiment?" Yaku asked to Moyo.

Moyo nodded: "I have a list of suitable candidates, however most of them are in positions and roles that I need to be active in order for our rebellion to succeed when it comes time to strike. Any candidates we choose have to be in hiding in our secondary compound to prevent Zetsu from finding them if the experiment succeeds and bears fruit. Ashi I cannot afford to be in hiding for the duration of the follow up of a successful experiment due to my induction into Akatsuki that is going to be keeping me away from here, she will be vital to keeping things running smoothly. Kage's work as our primary assassin is too important for them to be suddenly pulled away from it for almost a year. Unless you have a medic willing to do it, I don't see anyone else volunteering."

Yaku shrugged: "I was wondering. Don't worry, we've got 6 years before they are due to begin. I'm sure a change in attitude and other things will happen and we'll have some good candidates."

Moyo raised an eyebrow: "Something about that didn't sound quite right for the context we are talking about."

Yaku thought for a second before responding: "Huh, you're kind of right. Oh well. So when is your partner due to be here?"

Moyo responded: "My partner has business of his own to attend to that should take about 2 weeks and after that he is heading here. I don't know how long it will take for him to get here but we should be prepared for Kisame to arrive any day after 2 weeks, but Kudo will be sent the way he should be going if it takes him out of the Land of Wind's Desert through the east or towards the best road going further north in the Elemental Nations. If I'm lucky, Kudo will encounter Kisame and attack him looking for a kill to satisfy his bloodlust and Kisame will put that lunatic down. If he doesn't encounter Kisame he would still be dealing with the Summon Clan that makes it home in the area where he will be scouting, a clan known to be extremely hostile to anyone not with one of their summoners. If he were to die or disappear it would eliminate the major dangers he would pose to the plan without drawing attention to possible foul play. But if all else fails, I will confront him myself in one of the few areas in Ancestors that Mayfly cannot access. I could use the opportunity to test my new evolution of Possessive Gaze on him."

Yaku responded: "I thought Possessive Gaze couldn't work on anyone with an active Mangekyo, because I know Kudo has one. I don't know how you managed to cover up that fact."

Moyo responded: "It's a new evolution that I discovered, one that I believe will work on him without the Mangekyo shutting it down if he switches over to it. My previous tests showed that it would work much more subtly, allowing me to give orders to the target. It works well enough, it doesn't have the same limited success rate that Possessive Gaze does. It is a derivative of the Technique but I do not know if everyone who possesses the Possessive Gaze technique can reach the evolution I discovered for it. As for how I hid that fact from both the Black Flames and Zetsu, careful manipulation of the data and use of a few underhanded methods. It seems to function similarly to another Mangekyo mind control jutsu but different in some ways as well."

Yaku questioned: "Do you believe that his mental instability will be able to be affected by the jutsu? We know that whatever is wrong with Kudo upstairs is negatively affecting any form of mental manipulation Genjutsu's chance of successfully working on him."

Moyo responded darkly as Mai went under: "If Kudo manages to return despite my precautions and he resists the genjutsu, I will kill him myself. And I won't be going at him alone. Kudo will fall one way or another, be it becoming my pawn to help bring down Zetsu or dying at the hands of those who hate him most." Moyo said this while activating his Sharingan and turning it to the Mangekyo for the jutsu he had discovered. A yin-yang like symbol that was black on both sides with a red divide between them and a single red dot on the outer edges of the two halves and a spike extending off of both halves.

And with that, the hybrid kunoichi went under and the hybrid medic went to work.

Xxx

_**Konoha **_

_**12 hours following Daybreak retreat order**_

Rin's mind was almost blank as she wandered through the streets of Konoha to the two floor house she shared with her teammates and their charge.

Everything ached from the battles she fought and she had to work herself exhausted to heal the injured, using multiple Soldier Pills over what she would have considered safe for most people. It was a sacrifice and one she was willing to make for her village. Some people desperately needed the medical aide and she couldn't afford not to work herself over to ensure everyone got the care they needed.

Isobu was quiet, like he was sleeping or was meditating. Rin didn't care at the moment, all she could think about was going inside, taking her shoes off, lay down on the futon or a couch and just resting while praying that she wouldn't have to go back to work for some reason tonight.

She made it and opened the door to find Kakashi sitting down at a table reading one of his books. Rin sighed that he had lost the care to have shame to be seen reading Jiraiya's books, but at the same time she was thankful at least that he wasn't reading it around Naruto or Hinata whenever she was around him.

She went to take her shoes off and Kakashi spoke: "Rough day, huh?"

Rin yawned before she spoke: "Yeah, but the problem I had wasn't the fighting. It was the medical stuff afterwards that drained me completely."

Kakashi snorted before he responded: "That doesn't surprise me. I got us all Teriyaki Chicken takeout. Naruto ate his and I ate mine, Obito hasn't gotten home from wherever he is."

That last one made Rin remember something she had been thinking of earlier but then she started smelling the aroma from the food and a second later her stomach grumbled and reminded her that she hadn't had anything solid since breakfast cause of the attack.

Rin immediately changed her path from the couch to the food and grabbed the container that had her name on it. She sat at the table and ate it at comfortable pace, at least she hoped, she might have made Naruto eating ramen might have looked cleaner but she really didn't care after how bad her hunger got after she realized it was there.

After finishing her meal and cleaning up, Rin made her way to the couch and immediately sat down and began nursing the aching muscles of her body after the long day she had.

She wasn't ready to sleep yet due to leftover adrenaline. But rest in any form was greatly appreciated.

**I'd say take a well-earned rest, Rin-chan. **The ever wise voice of Isobu sounded off,

'_Oh I intend to. Say, what have you been thinking about?' _Rin thought as she laid back.

**Of how well we did today. I think we have made far more progress today then we have since we began working together. **

'_Really? Huh, I'd say so too.' _Rin thought to her partner.

**I'm serious Rin. I realize that you're so tired that you might as well be asleep, but I am serious when I say that we have come incredibly far. We can begin with training to control yourself during version 2. Once we have you able to retain your mind in that state, then you're ready to start learning my techniques like my Coral Spikes. **

'_Sounds great. When do we start?' _Rin thought.

**Preferable once we have fully recovered from today's events and your abuse of Soldier Pills. I would say once you're not, as you humans say, 'punch drunk' but if we are entirely honest, you're always like that. **Rin could almost see her mental roommate smirking at his shot at her.

Before Rin could respond, the door opened and a voice called out tiredly: "I'm home guys."

Rin roused from her daze to see Obito-kun walking in the door. She tiredly got up off the couch and went to greet him: "Welcome home, Obito-kun."

Obito reciprocated before speaking: "Rin, c-could I talk to you. O-outside." Obito spoke with a bit of hesitation and a small blushing on his face.

Rin found it strange but nodded and she followed him to the small turtle pond that was in their yard.

Obito looked around awkwardly before speaking: "N-nice night o-out tonight, isn't it?"

Rin raised an eyebrow, _'He's acting strange just like those times before the attack. What is wrong? Is he actually going to…? ' _Rin wondered before responding: "Y-yeah I guess it is."

Obito went quiet for a while before his face twisted around before he spoke again: "AW, TO HELL WITH THIS!"

Rin was shocked by the sudden change in attitude: "Excuse Me?"

Obito breathed before responding: "Rin, you did nothing wrong, I was talking about myself and my attitude towards what I'm about to do. It's been something I have been trying to talk to you about for a month now. I need you to bear with me." Rin nodded.

Obito huffed for a moment: "Rin, you have always been one of the most important people in my life. You were the first one outside of my mom to acknowledge and support my dream rather than putting me down for having it while also being the Black Sheep of the Uchiha. I made sure to return the favor by standing for you and your dream as well as behind you when you were made the Sanbi Jinchuriki. We have been together for almost eight years and I was wanting to talk to you about something for a while now but my own reservations about the conditions and circumstances as well as my own insecurities ran wild and I backed off. That was a mistake, one I'm correcting as we speak. Today's attack reminded me of the truth of this world: that we are living in a world where the certainty of death and unrest is assured and they can separate us forever in a moment which is why I now ask like this." Obito paused before he continued to swallow the dry lump in his mouth and breathe for a moment while grabbing her hand in his own.

Rin's eyes went wide: _'I-is he getting ready to ask me what I think he getting ready to?' _No way, it had to be something else.

Obito spoke as he went to his knees: "Rin, you have been the single most important people in my life since they day I met you. You have had my back and I have had yours, I have loved you regardless of whether it was just you in there or both you and the Turtle as it has been for years. But now I have to ask you this:" Obito said as he put his other hand around Rin's.

"Nohara Rin, Will you marry me?"

That one sentence nearly sent Rin into shock.

**I believe you are supposed to answer**. Isobu's voice sounded

'_I know and shut it. I'm trying to calm down enough to not sound like a blunder idiot.'_

**I know. Just take a moment to breathe and speak honestly. Don't try for perfection. Few things are truly perfect, we must make our best attempt and realize that it is not perfect, but we must make do with it. **Isobu responded, almost nostalgically sounding as if he was recalling a memory of someone he cared for.

She stood with a shocked expression for a few moments contemplating it and calming herself.

'_Thanks Isobu, I needed that. Where did you come up with that?' _Rin asked as she calmed the last of her nerves.

**You're welcome. I got it from my first Jinchuriki, a woman named Karatachi. She was wise and mild mannered but she was a hopeless romantic. She originally gave the same advice to a friend. I remember when she was asked by her love for her hand in marriage and I remember her trying to calm down and she gave her advice to herself. She was someone worth remembering. She saw the truth of the Biju. She saw the truth of me. **Isobu said with equal fond happiness and mournful sadness.

'_She sounds like it. I know what I'm going to say now.' _Rin thought as she began to give her response.

Rin got down on her knees as well and put her free hand on Obito's hands: "I don't have a grand speech to give but I will say this. I have always been fond of you, originally I don't think it was love but over time your dedication to proving yourself slowly but surely wormed into my heart. Some of the best memories of my life so far have been made with this family of ours, but the ones with you have been truly precious. I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I love you and nothing will ever change that. Whatever new name we use for ourselves does not matter. To answer your question:

Yes, I will."

Silence ensued, a blissful one.

After a while Obito began muttering with tears of joy running down his eyes: "Thank… thank you, Rin. Thank you so much."

Xxx

_**Konoha outskirts **_

_**The next day**_

_**20 hours following the retreat order**_

Tsunade and Shizune both had their eyes went wide as they laid eyes on Konoha's gates for the first time in years.

For Tsunade, memories from years gone by of fighting in the Second Great Ninja War came back. The scorch marks covering the gates and the smoke from smoldering rubble brought back the images of so many battles' aftermath.

Once they were in the gates, the carnage looked both better and worse somehow.

Tsunade recognized the look of the Shinobi running around trying to sift through collapsed buildings trying to find victims trapped beneath the rubble.

Still trying to figure out who was missing and who was dead.

"Shizune, go find anywhere you can help. I'm going to find sensei and then I'll get to work as well." Tsunade said to her apprentice.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune responded and went to find wherever she could help.

Tsunade walked quickly to the Hokage's Tower and saw even more of the damage to the village, determining that there was no way that people weren't still trapped beneath the rubble.

How many people had lost everything they had because of this?

Eventually she walked in and climbed her way up to sensei's office.

She knocked and was told to enter and found Hiruzen-sensei speaking to his teammates.

"The civilian casualty number have jumped up to about 150. The general clan losses have gone to about 20-25 each. The Aburame clan only lost 10 compared to the rest. The Hyuga losses haven't risen any. That brings our Shinobi losses up to about 230 excluding the Uchiha losses." Homura said.

"Even if that army was nothing but an army of pawns, this Zetsu needs to be held accountable for his actions. We need to start hunting him down." Koharu said.

Hiruzen started: "Right now, we only have a limited idea about what Zetsu is capable of. Even if he managed to breed an Uchiha clan of his own for use as an army, we still don't know how many more there are and what Zetsu's full capabilities are and where his hideouts are. We need more… Tsunade?"

The two advisors turned around and saw Tsunade standing there.

Koharu spoke: "Tsunade. Even if your timing is a bit questionable, it is good to see you home."

Tsunade went wide eyed.

Hotaru spoke as well: "We have finished here. We will be taking our leave. Hiruzen, we suggest that you start planning on speaking to the Daimyo in the next few days about a repair budget."

Both left and Hiruzen spoke: "It has been too long Tsunade. I wish the village wasn't in the state it is in but somethings cannot be helped."

Tsunade answered after a moment: "Sorry, sensei. I w-was just shocked. Koharu has never been too fond of me, yet that was the nicest thing she ever said to me."

Hiruzen spoke: "Koharu cares about the village deeply. She may be a bit of a traditionalist and she may be a stubborn old woman, but she cares for Konoha above all else. You coming home means that things may start improving, with you here to teach the next generation, there is little to fear for them. She knows that. She has a granddaughter that looks up to you."

Tsunade smiled: "Heh, good to know that some still respect the Sannin I used to be."

However it didn't last, Tsunade went serious and asked: "Sensei, what happened?"

Hiruzen sighed and began telling what they knew.

Xxx

_**Land of Grass**_

_**Location unknown**_

Ninjas and Summoning Clans had worked together since the invention of Ninjutsu.

Every Clan had a long and story filled history.

Many Clans had tragically been destroyed and consigned to the records of history, while some had been forgotten entirely after their destruction.

However the two that held the longest histories were The Toad Summoning Clan of Mount Myoboku and the Snake Summoning Clan of Ryuichi Cave.

The Toads could point to their founding when their founder Gamamaru led the Twin Sages down the path that reshaped the world.

The Snakes could point to their founding when their founder in her youth helped stop a pointless battle, the first battle of what the humans now called the Warring States Era.

Both could claim that one of their members had managed to master the Sage Arts to the point of glimpsing the universe's secrets.

Things had never been entirely peaceful between the two, few clans managed to live in complete harmony. The Slug Clan of the Humid Bone Forest chose to live a peaceful existence, but they proved to be a terrible enemy should their ire be earned.

Toads and Snakes had always had a tension between them, but when the worst had happened and they needed to unite to fight a shared enemy, they could put aside their differences and work together.

Which now led to the present.

Kusahebi had never been the largest or most intimidating member of his clan, but he was one of the eldest and one who understood the necessity of compromise.

His cool head had helped to settle many feuds before they started or help settle some that had been going for quite some time.

When the previous head had retired and Manda took over the Snake Clan, Kusahebi believed it was his time to step down as well.

He had his doubts, Manda was rough and demanding and hardly took compromises unless he came out definitively on top of the arrangement, but the old snake hoped that time and age would temper the boy's actions and decisions.

Kusahebi had started his retirement visiting old friends amongst the different clans before eventually making his way back to Ryuichi Cave to serve as council for the boy.

He should have realized something was going wrong when the boy wasn't seeking wise council.

During this time, Orochimaru had been made the newest Summoner of the clan.

Kusahebi had heard about Orochimaru and Manda's showdown with Ibuse and his summoner alongside Gamabunta and Katsuyu's current summoners. It seemed as though Manda was finally growing up.

But then last year, Kusahebi had decided to go see old friends amongst the different clans once more, only to find himself met with steel rather than open arms like in the past.

Every single one had met with hostility rather than hospitality.

The old snake had tried to negotiate a solution but every time he was met with a threat and the phrase: _"We know better than to trust snakes from Ryuichi cave!"_

It saddened the old snake to see such hostility and hatred towards the cave. But then it began making him wonder where it came from.

A part of him knew it had to be Manda's doing, but he kept from acting on it out of belief for reasonable doubt.

No answers were given to him and the snake decided to return to the cave.

When he returned he found himself met by the old Boss Snake: Kurohebi.

Kusahebi was asked about his travels and the old snake told his master the truth.

Kurohebi was one who kept his rage in check, most yells of outrage were shows to put fear of betraying him into the rest, but when the old black snake heard about Kusahebi's experience, he began radiating barely contained rage.

A few days later the old snake found himself with a summons and a mission: "Find out what happened and how we can fix it."

The old snake agreed and set out.

What he found so far was disgusting, Manda had been demanding human sacrifices from Orochimaru in exchange for the Snake Clan's support and Orochimaru had been happy to oblige. Sacrificing enemies and towns alike to appease the boy.

The summons who Kusahebi found who were willing to talk told of Manda attempting to destroy any clan who he viewed as a threat to his power in any way through any means.

None had any true success and any that had gained some were undercut by the same flaws that Kusahebi saw in the boy all those years ago.

Apparently Orochimaru had gone rogue from his village of Konoha and following this had gotten into separate fights with both his sensei Sarutobi Hiruzen and his summon King Enma, leader of the Monkey clan of the Mountain of the Heavenly Enlightened Sage, his teammate Jiraiya and Gamabunta the current leader of the Toads. Both times drawing Manda into the fight and not only re-inflaming tensions but causing them to explode and become even worse than ever.

The snake began mulling his options before remembering about the child that Orochimaru had trained and passed the contract onto: Mitarashi Anko.

He had heard some of Manda's most loyal refer to her derisively and grumbled about her not paying proper tribute to the Boss Snake. Preferring to summon members of the Snake Clan who observed the traditions and precedents set by Kurohebi.

If she had anything that could help put an end to Manda's madness, he had to go to her and speak.

He had heard that she chose to remain loyal to her home, Konoha, in the wake of Orochimaru being driven out after the Third Hokage discovered the full extent of his crimes and experiments but chose not to kill the boy he had trained.

Konoha was a little under two weeks away from where the old Snake currently slithered. He decided to take the long way rather than reverse summon himself to her. Maybe others who held the scent of the Snakes of the Cave would be willing to impart information. He doubted it but it was worth considering.

This Anko was probably the best bet for anything that could damn Manda and set things back onto a path that could begin repairing the damages that Manda's idiocy had caused.

With his next step in mind and decided on, Kusahebi began slithering along through the grasslands this country was named for much like his name sake.

'_I had hope for you Manda-chan, but it seems it was misplaced. You have ruined our reputation amongst the world, caused old rivalries to return and become truly bitter in nature, and you have ended countless lives for no reason other than because you can. I hope what I find in Anko-san's words to be enough to finally convince Kurohebi-sama to do something about you. If left unchecked, you threaten the balance between us all and leave us without anyone to trust should whatever the darkness that the Great White Snake Sage senses in her vision come to pass. I know you will try to fight us, but I believe that cooler heads will prevail. They must if we are to survive, for cooler heads are the root of compromise, and without compromise, we will be alone and shall not survive.'_

The snake slithered along as he thought this, heading to Konoha to find the student of the one who helped ruin the Snake Clan's standing and hoping she would have the answers and be willing to give them.

Xxx

_**Konoha**_

_**7 days following Daybreak**_

Naruto looked pensively at Rin and Obito as they led both him and Hinata to a place they wouldn't specify.

He really started wondering when they came to the cemetery.

Memories from the funerals from a few days ago filled his head. Rin and Obito insisted on going and insisted that he go with them.

He didn't understand why they were coming now and why Hinata was with them, not that he didn't mind her being with them, she was an absolutely great friend.

Thinking about her drew his mind back to last winter when a couple of assholes started picking on her because of her Byakugan eyes.

She never had the best confidence in herself but what they were saying to her drove him mad and he decided to stand up for her.

Got his ass kicked but he returned the favor and beat them into the ground just as bad if not worse.

Afterwards Hinata had never acted quite the same but as long as she was his friend he was fine.

Though the semi frequent reddening of her cheeks left him somewhat concerned. Another feeling that he didn't quite understand also bubbled up when he thought about her but he just shook it aside.

Worry started rousing in the boy's mind when they begn to head deeper into the cemetery than they had been before.

Eventually Obito-Nii-san spoke: "I'm sorry we have been a little vague about where we wanted to take you kids but we really do have a reason to go this way. Trust us, this needs to be done."

Naruto nodded: "I trust y'all. You haven't given me reason not to."

Hinata spoke: "I-if Naruto-kun trusts you o-on this, th-then so do I." she stated trying to sound confident.

Rin nodded. "We're almost where we are going, someone should be waiting for us there."

Naruto wondered and looked over at Hinata who had the same confusion in her eyes as well.

They continued to walk until they came upon a section of the cemetery that was typically used for clans and families, usually denoted by a symbol or crest associated with that clan being placed on the graves.

They walked to a spot marked with the swirl marking that Naruto had on all his clothes and was found on the Konoha Headband as part of the Leaf Symbol.

Hinata spoke: "R-Rin-san, what clan is buried here?"

Rin looked over: "I'm guessing most of your education on the various clans has mostly concerned the ones that are still considered active. The clan buried here is an old one, one that was allied with the Senju since before the Village was founded. They didn't join the village but they were considered part of it. They were called the Uzumaki Clan."

Naruto spoke up: "I have a clan!? Since when?"

Rin grimaced slightly: "They were destroyed back in the first months of the Second Great Ninja War. Before everyone had realized that it was another Great Ninja War. Other villages and clans sought to seize the Uzumaki clan's knowledge and traits. They formed a coalition and attacked but lost heavily and gained nothing for it except destroying Uzushiogakure, the Village hidden by the Whirlpool."

Naruto was stunned for a moment.

Hinata spoke: "W-why does it look like no one has been here in a while?"

Obito picked up: "Not a whole lot of people come out this way anymore, mainly because a lot of these people have been dead for a while or have gravestones in other parts of the cemetery due to marriage or positions they held."

Rin looked around. "Guess Hitomi got caught up in clan business. Looks like we'll have to take up her part."

Obito nodded: "I was aware that was a possibility."

Hinata and Naruto wondered why Hinata's mother would have been here. They had not time to speculate as Rin and Obito stopped at two particular graves.

Obito spoke up: "Though these two graves in particular are a bit important to Rin-chan, Kakashi, and me."

The two children looked and went wide eyed at one of the names on the stones.

One was Uzumaki Kushina,

The other was Namikaze Minato, The Fourth Hokage.

Naruto spoke: "Wait, the Fourth Hokage is buried with the Uzumaki clan. Was he part of the clan?"

Rin answered: "The answer to that is both Yes and No. He wasn't part of the clan by blood but he was by marriage, Kushina was his wife."

Well that was something for Naruto to hear, not every day you find out you're related indirectly to one of your heroes.

Obito spoke up: "Minato-sensei and Kushina-sensei were probably the biggest influences in how we decided to live our lives."

Naruto spoke up: "Is there a reason my name is Uzumaki?"

Obito nodded: "Yeah kid, if you hadn't cut me off I was about to say it. We took care of you on their behalf after they died but we would have done it anyways even if they hadn't asked us to."

Naruto questioned: "Why would they ask you to take care of me?"

Rin put her hand on Naruto's shoulder: "Naruto, they _are_, or rather _were_, your parents."

That sentence hit with the weight of a freight train.

Naruto eventually asked once he could form coherent sentences: "Why am I only hearing about this now?!"

Obito spoke up: "Kid, we have been trying to keep you safe. Minato-sensei had enemies who would love the chance to kill you to spite him and Kushina was an Uzumaki which if anyone found out was true they would be gunning for you. The world we live in is messed up and we have been trying to protect you."

Naruto felt his thoughts gear towards why he didn't have parents: because of the Kyubi.

Naruto grumbled: "Stupid fox."

Obito and Rin looked at each other with something in their eyes.

Hinata noticed the air but chose to speak: "I-I don't s-see why I am h-here."

Rin sighed: "We have got more to tell you two and it involves you Hinata. You two have learned about the Nine Biju and the Jinchurkis who have one sealed inside of them right."

The two kids nodded. Naruto spoke up: "But the village was attacked by the Kyubi which was never given to a Jinchuriki and it killed a bunch of people before the Fourth Hokage sealed it away for good."

The two adults winced. Obito spoke: "Well, that is partially true kid. It did attack the village and Minato-sensei did seal it away." He paused for a moment, probably gathering his thoughts.

Obito continued: "But the Kyubi has been held by Konoha for almost 80 years. Only members of the Uzumaki clan with their powerful and unique chakra could contain it within them. In the village's history, the Fox has been held by three Jinchurikis. The Kyubi's first Jinchuriki was Senju Mito, born Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the First Hokage."

Rin began speaking after he finished: "Its second Jinchuriki was your mother, Kushina."

Naruto spoke: "Then how did it get out and attack?"

Rin answered: "There is a lot to explain but the short of it is that she was about to give birth to you and someone who knew Kushina-sensei held Kyubi found out and struck the night she gave birth. The process of carrying you weakened the seal holding Kyubi in her and the process of giving birth rendered the seal's structure fragile to the point of imminent collapse. Minato-sensei was there to repair it once you had been born, but someone broke in and attacked before he could do so. The man kidnapped Kushina-sensei and released the Fox after placing it under his control and sending it on a rampage to destroy Konoha."

Obito spoke: "By the time Kakashi, Rin-chan, and myself caught up to them, Minato-sensei had severed the man's control over the Fox and pulled it away from the village. Rin-chan tried to save Kushina-sensei while the rest of us helped to set up the sealing for Kyubi but…" he said trailing off.

Rin picked up: "But by the time we had arrived, the damage to Kushina-sensei's Chakra network due to the extraction had worsened beyond my ability to save or repair. She was already dying and decided to use her last moments to help save the village and her family."

Obito nodded: "Minato-sensei used a forbidden sealing jutsu called the Shiki Fuin to summon the Shinigami and sacrificed his soul to it in order to seal the Kyubi into its current Jinchuriki."

Obito drew in a deep breath and exhaled: "Naruto, you are the current Jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Kitsune."

Naruto went wide eyed in shock. Eventually he sputtered out with tears running down his eyes: "Wh-why did he seal it in me?"

Obito spoke: "Minato-sensei was one who led by example, asking no more of others than he would of himself. A trait that I believe is important for a good leader. The highest demonstration of which is what he did. But he spared you from the harsh treatment villages where the Jinchurikis' identities are known. But he also did it because he believed in you, that you would be able to achieve the power of a perfect Jinchuriki. Kushina-sensei wanted to drag it down with her but she relented and went along with your father's plan because she believed in you."

Naruto stopped crying eventually.

Rin spoke once Naruto had calmed down: "But someone wanted to use you for his purposes regarding you lineage and leaked your existence to Kumo. A Black Ops team was sent with the Nibi Jinchuriki among them to kidnap you and take you to Kumo when you were a few weeks old. Kakashi, Obito-kun, and I were able to intercept them during their escape and managed to get you back and kill or capture the team. It was decided that Yugito, the Nibi's Jinchuriki, was too much of a liability to be allowed to go free. She had too much intelligence we couldn't allow to get out and we couldn't have her mind wiped by a Yamanaka because her Biju would have remembered anyways. Kumo has been pulling these infiltrations for a while now, it was decided that we had to make a point. Yugito was going to be executed by her Biju being extracted and then it would be sealed into a new Jinchuriki."

Naruto and Hinata began figuring out why Hinata was here.

Obito spoke: "We had no idea what to look for in determining host viability with the Cat so we had to get help. Jiraiya-sama had a lot of knowledge on the subject of Biju and Jinchuriki thanks to his study of Uzumaki knowledge and scrolls. He had known a blanket method thanks to his studies on Fuinjutsu. We followed his instruction and found a potential host who would be able to properly contain the Cat according to the test but the problem was that she wasn't born yet and was due to be born on December 27th, a full two months away."

Hinata began realizing who they were referring to, tears forming in her eyes.

Rin spoke, trying to keep the girl calm with gentler bedside manner: "Yes, Hinata. You are the Jinchuriki we chose. Your father never was told but your mother was told about what we planned and she consented, placing the same faith in you that Naruto's parents placed in him."

Hinata devolved into soft sobbing as Rin began hugging her trying to comfort the child.

Naruto and Obito joined the hug.

Eventually the hug broke up after Hinata calmed down, her eyes still reddened by the crying.

Rin asked: "You feeling better Hinata?"

The Hyuga nodded: "Y-yes."

Rin smiled: "Good."

Obito spoke after a while: "What we have told you, you have to be cautious about who you tell it to."

The kids nodded.

Rin spoke: "The seals that appear on your stomachs when you channel or mold Chakra is the seal that binds the Biju to you. We're supposed to be cursed to harsh treatment but I choose to look at it as we have the opportunity to do things no one else can."

Naruto looked confused and voiced it simply with: "What?"

Rin sighed before unzipping her jacket and lifting up her shirt and making a Hand Seal, causing a seal to appear on her stomach: "I'm a Jinchurki as well. I hold the Sanbi. It is a long story but I almost began to focus on the negative of it before I was convinced of the opportunity I had been given."

Obito smiled: "The two of us and Kakashi have been called the Seals of Fate for a while. When the Nickname was given to us, we began talking about it. Some hold the belief that fate is chosen by a higher power and the ability to change it is held from us. Fate is sealed as the powers that be wills it. But Minato-sensei proposed an alternate meaning with a saying that I will always remember: If Fate is a seal then life is like a Seal Master drawing and creating a seal's matrix, every action done to determine what seal shall be made, we may not be able to choose the lot we're given but we have the power to choose where we go and determine what we shall do; we may have a set destination at the end but we can choose the path to get there or choose to carve out our own."

Naruto began smiling: "Heh, that does sound great. Mom and Dad were the best, weren't they?"

Obito and Rin smiled: "Yeah, they really were."

Silence ensured before respects were payed to the graves.

A grumbling from each one broke the silence.

A few laughs were let out.

Obito smiled: "How about we go get lunch?"

Rin nodded. Naruto screamed: "Let's go to Ichiraku's!"

Hinata giggled at his antics, while Obito shrugged: "Sure, why not."

The group of four moved along.

**End Chapter 9**

**Well that was a chapter.**

**First off who all had managed to figure out that Akatsuki was trying to recruit Shin? I'm legitimately curious. I thought it would be obvious the moment that the additional extraction target was revealed as Danzo and when Tobi questioned him about his arm.**

**Akatsuki meeting and aftermaths: there really isn't much to say about this section. It really is just to show how Akatsuki will be developing and changing from here on out. I genuinely wonder if anyone has any guesses about who Nanashi really is. He is a canon character. He also holds the unique title of being one of the few characters in the entirety of Naruto that I absolutely loath. He has a few interesting things to him which I think are wasted on a character as detestable as him. I have been holding off on having him act because it will show off character trait that I believe will ruin the surprise. Any guesses at who he is?**

**Gaara/ Shukaku/ Matsuri's section: I wanted to make a mirror between Gaara and Fu, similar yet a distinctly distorted reflection. Both could hear their Biju and both were guided by their Biju's voice, but Shukaku mostly manipulates Gaara by pretending to be the voice of Gaara's mother and has him do things that usually only benefit Shukaku while sometimes guiding him to do things that benefit only Gaara and sometimes others but having developed some care for the boy while Chomei chooses to be Fu's friend, albeit pretending to be imaginary, and wants only the best for her, teaching her what he can and being a voice to encourage her. That little remark by Shukaku about the first beast to taste the blood of man is a reference to the Game of Thrones TV Series, specifically to season 7 (episode 2 I do believe) to a conversation between Melisandre and Varys. Varys was the one to make the quote I was referencing but it was in regards to political power and every benefit that comes with it being given to common folk and ones who are foreigners like himself and Melisandre. I thought it would fit in the context of how I wanted to write Shukaku. Gaara's unintended inspiring and standing up for Matsuri and creating the start for her attraction to him here is supposed to create another distorted mirroring, this one to Naruto and how Hinata began being attracted to him. Taiya is an OC generated by one specific character surviving due to the altered events of the Third Great Ninja War. Her name is a bit of a hint when given the proper context and her scant description probably pieces it together.**

**Hiruzen/ Hisashi/ Obito/ Fu's section: not much to say about the general council meeting, other than talk about Hiashi's absence. I couldn't decide between either sparing or killing him off last chapter, so the section was cut but the attack was still part of the story we just didn't witness it. Hisashi's section is the first time we see things from his perspective and did you notice how odd and alien it felt, like he physically did not belong in the World of Naruto? That is the point. It has always been the point that Hisashi does not belong in the Elemental Nations from the start and has been actively limiting what he does, while at the same time striking at the worst he sees and helping how he can in indirect ways. I hope this helps to explain Jiraiya's observation of him from the section that introduced him back in chapter 6, the idealism of visionary who truly believes in humanity's potential and believes that true peace is possible mixed with the cynicism from witnessing quite a bit of true horror and had known far too much of war. This aspect is based on one of my favorite characters from the Discworld series: Sam Vimes, one of the protagonist of the City Watch theme of the series and the viewpoint through which most of that section of the series is told through. Vimes is characterized similarly, deep idealism in what men could achieve while mixed with some really heavy cynicism about the nature of man and a hatred for the politics and other things of a deeply messed up government and its convoluted policies that prevent him from doing his job as well as he could be doing it. He hates humans despite being one himself and all the fantastical races that surround him not because they aren't human but because he knows that nothing is perfect and everyone is capable of equal good and evil each in their own ways. Things get better over the course of the series. Another similar type of character in this archetype of the odd mix of Cynicism and Idealism would be Vash the Human Typhoon/ the Stampede from the Trigun series. Moving on. I imagine Gai would have a similar friendship or kinship with Obito as Rock Lee would have with Naruto, it is just how I would imagine it. I almost did not include the sneeze gag involving Shino when Fu has that particular thought about an Aburame being in her class at the academy, but I decided to because it felt appropriate.**

**Moyo's section: let's start with Kudo. Kudo's appearance is meant to be a horror show. I intended him to look pretty average but there being a deeply unnerving air surrounding him (kind of like Kira Yoshikage from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable) at first but then I started rethinking on how to make each hybrid unique and then I remembered a character from The Infamous Man's **_**Amazing Fantasy**_**, a My Hero Academia and Spider-Man/ Marvel Comic Universe crossover for those who don't know. Long story short, the version of Kaine who shows up in the story is based appearance wise on Kaine Parker's appearance from the Ultimate Marvel publication's Spider-Man. That got me thinking and I used that as a starting point. If you want to look at the horror that I used as a starting point, look that ugly motherfucker up: Ultimate Kaine Parker or Kaine Parker (Earth 1610). That face gave me nightmares the first time I saw it. I started from there and turned the genetic damage and deformities into scars that sound horrible just being described (and probably are made even more horrifying by just not talking about how he got most of them), only really preserving the clouded eye and the muscle fibers hanging over it. I probably put in a little Freddy Kruger from the Nightmare on Elm Street remake as well with the one third degree burn I put on his neck and jaw. I mixed in a little bit of Tyrian Callows from RWBY for his personality of being violently bat shit insane with brief periods of paper thin lucidity where he is highly over theatrical while still being clearly insane. The difference being that Tyrian is a kind of creepy cool character while still being an unrepentant serial killer with pretty much no redeeming qualities and an assassin working for an evil witch that he worships as a goddess, while Kudo is very much a horrifying monster who is prone to violent open temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way and has no respect for Zetsu outside of him allowing Kudo to get away with his atrocities, which is a trait I procured from the character of Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides, from Game of Thrones/ A Song of Fire and Ice in regards to the reason why he serves House Lannister for the most part, at least how I interpret it. Kudo is an amalgamation of traits from different characters, the sum total of which creates a character which is an unlikeable monster and easy to hate.**

**Moving on from Kudo, most of the hybrids/ Makayus named have references to characters from other franchises or have a referential theme to their design, usually to a ninja from another franchise or a Ninja like character, or some other type of reference. The reference will usually be either in the name, their fighting styles, what they do, or some combination of the three. The primary reference with Mai is that she is partially based on Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury franchise, with her fire affinity and how she will use it. She also further fills the reference by using a small folding metal handheld fan, Mai Shiranui's weapon of choice, which I imagined as a side arm for her that she can keep hidden for when she is disarmed. Moyo's reference is found in his weapon choice, his name holds no clues but when he starts demonstrating his capabilities with Fire Release it might clue fans of that series in. The brief scuffle with Kudo should start to give who I'm basing his style on away. Yaku's reference is not to another ninja from another franchise, it is to Japanese Folklore. In fact the reference is the same as Yakushi Kabuto's Family Name, to the healer Yakushi, no further explanation needed. Ashi's reference is one that I will wait to reveal but if you hang around in the right community you will probably start figuring it out. Kage, the one named but not shown, is one that I will probably have to spell out unless you are familiar with the series the character they are based on is from. Their name is a reference to the nickname held by the people the character claimed to be a member of. **

**Rin's section: okay, I will admit that the foreshadowing for this got messed up a little bit. There was supposed to be a little bit between Shisui and Obito in chapter 7 that implied Obito was getting ready to ask Rin to marry him, the current version of that chapter has it there now. Obito's thought to himself about asking her towards the end of his section of the last chapter, was him deciding to power through and asking her in this segment.**

**Kusahebi: I wrote this section with a little bit of a question in mind regarding how most summon clans demand some form of tribute but Manda seems to be far more violent and brutal, so I interpreted it as a form of policy difference between leaders, Kurohebi (Manda's predecessor as the Boss Snake here in this fic) being relatively relaxed and a good leader who understands the responsibilities of power while demanding tribute but nothing as extreme as human sacrifice, while Manda is violent and a poor leader who seeks to abuse the privilege and benefits of wielding power. I decided on this for my interpretation on Manda after remembering just how demeaning he was to his summoners as well as demanding of his tribute in comparison to both Katsuyu and Gamabunta (I know his summoners were Orochimaru and Sasuke when he summoned him as a meat shield against Deidara but my point stands). The bit about the Monkey Clan making their home on the Mountain of The Heavenly Enlightened Sage, is a reference to Journey to the West, the Heavenly Enlightened Sage is one of the titles that the Monkey King Sun Wukong/ Son Goku fashions for himself. I thought it was fitting considering King Enma's Adamantine Staff form is based on The Monkey King's Ryugi Jingu Bang, the expanding staff and the basis for kid Goku's Power Pole weapon in Dragon Ball. This segment was intended to be the end of the chapter but things happened the day I finally got my thoughts in order and got it typed out.**

**It was May 7th. Mere minutes before a little girl Yorkie named Hope tripped and broke her neck against a wall. I still see the puddle of blood from after we got her up to try to get her help.**

**Naruto and the graveyard scene: this section was not originally intended to be in this chapter but circumstances made it so. Originally it was just supposed to be a sendoff to my dog, a way of helping with the grief I was feeling but I decided to add to the preceding scene and make it a scene that I had already planned and move the planned sendoff to the next chapter. In the original version of chapter 8 that was originally chapter 5, Naruto and Hinata both would have found out about being Jinchurikis much earlier (by about a year or so in universe) and in a different scenery. They would have known what they supposed to find out in the original chapter 4 which was originally a collection of segments over a time skip.**

**Well this chapter was incredibly long. I don't think we will be getting chapters that are quite as long again for a while.**

**Next chapter is wrapping up certain plots that have been set up. **

**This chapter was finished on 5/11/2020 at 1:48 pm. Upload will occur soon.**

**The last week has been extremely draining for me. Exams and then my dog dying and then having to take an exam that day as well not long after it had happened. I'm going to take a few days to a week off from writing to try and get over everything. If we are lucky and writing for it goes like it did for this chapter, we will probably see it soon, hopefully by the end of this month.**

**Change Log (5/21/2020): minor clean up and some reworking to better set up Kudo for chapter 10.**

**Leave a review and give feedback.**

**Stay safe.**

**See you guys next time.**


	10. Return to Normalcy

Seals of Fate

**Back once More. Holy Hell, this took forever. **

**I'd like to peel back the mask for a moment and speak. My name is Alex L., I am the person behind the alias and personality of the pseudonym GBAboy313. I have been having issues with getting a job for almost 2 years and the resulting pressure created a hopeless rage and depression at the seeming hopelessness of my approaching future that erased any desire to work on this fic at times during the last few months. **

**I'd like to apologize for the three month wait between the previous chapter and this one. The previous issue I mentioned plus COVID Cabin Fever, Writer's Block, Bummed out by a living room missing the little girl who used to live in there, and other life things kinda held me back as well as going back to actual classes under social distance conditions just drained me. **

**Plus AADD(Author Attention Deficit Disorder) kicked in and stuff. Played quite a few games. Read an Elder Scrolls crossover (specifically a crossover with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim that got me to consider buying Skyrim and now am playing it. Great game. Could use some quality of life fixes though.) among other fics including a really good Ben 10 crossover with RWBY. I used to be really big on Ben 10 back in the day. Decided to Watch some shows I had been meaning to.**

**Though I just burned out hard trying to write this chapter.**

**As of Monday August 1, 2020, I am a graduate of Danville Community College's Electrical Electronics Program. I'm trying to get this chapter out before I have to seriously start job hunting. I failed in that but as of last week, the week of August 16-22 2020, I finally managed to get a new job. An electrician job using the education I got. So much despair and other things lifted from my shoulders.**

**Enough of this mushy banter, CAUSE GBABOY IS BACK AND I'M BRINGING THE NEXT CHAPTER OF SEALS WITH ME!**

**I started work on this on 5/12/2020. Mostly planning what to write. I finished this chapter on 8/29/2020 at 12:25 AM. I am tired and just want this put up.**

**I am not entirely proud of this chapter, but it needs to be made to get things moving towards my Part 1 equivalent.**

**I have mostly worked through what happened. Though it is hard to overcome the fact that Hope broke her neck literally right outside the door of my room. **

**Since starting the work on this chapter, I picked up Indivisible for Switch. I think it is an alright game. Looks great and plays pretty good but it needs some bug fixing regarding the glitch that causes monsters involved with quests to disappear entirely. Also played Shantae and the Seven Sirens and it was alright, pissed me off in a few places but definitely enjoyable.**

**We might get a Shantae one shot in the future. Maybe even an Indivisible one too. Has anyone explored the possibility of Bhadra surviving to the events of the actual game instead of dying before Ajna could remember her, and how that would affect Ajna's character? Do you think she would survive the raid on Ashawat or become another casualty alongside Indr with the only real difference being Ajna's personality being radically altered due to Bhadra's presence? **

**It literally just occurred to me that I should mentions this: I have no Beta beyond myself checking back over my work. Maybe I might get one in the future but for now and ever since I start writing and uploading this: NO BETA! WE DIE LIKE MEN! AND LIKE LADIES! AND LIKE LADIES WHO DRESS LIKE MEN! Props to anyone who gets the reference. I watched an LP of that game during the writing of this chapter, a challenge run that people do every year for a charity event.**

**I also want to give this reassurance, no canon character will have an OC love interest. I may not have the problems with OCs that other writers have but I swear that no canon character will have an OC love interest of my creation. A fling at the absolute most.**

**6/22/2020 12:32 am: I'd like to offer a big shout out to recent (as of this writing) follower and reviewer Hurricane Alpha. Just had life happen that clogged up my work load alongside trying to write this, Silver Twist ch4, and a Hellsing Crossover (no not with Naruto, sorry) that I was inspired to do by a fic that was abandoned back in early 2018 in favor of the author focusing on a joint effort with other writers for an Elder Scrolls crossover (the one I mentioned above). At the moment, I only planned a one shot for that crossover, at least until Seals approaches its midpoint which will probably be a while. Next year at the earliest and I'm confident that it will be a few years out.**

**6/29/2020 11:50 pm: in response to a review left by MagnusOrion: well, all the chapters I have written and released so far is what I consider to be the prologue arc to part 1. Yes I know that the perspectives tend to be numerous but it is building to my endgame for this fic. I view it like the scenes from Dragon Ball Super where the arena for the Tournament of Power is being built, blocks and pieces are being created, then attached together and then fitted together to form the arena; one crazy puzzle being shifted around to get all the pieces fitted together to prepare for what is coming. **

**While we are on the subject of Seals' future, we are looking at the start of Part 1 within the next few chapters. No clue how long part one is going to be, I don't want to rush through it too fast but I also don't want to drag it out. Same deal with part 2, but that is a ways out.**

**7/1/2020 9:22 pm: well, my classes at Danville Community College started back today due to my state moving into attempted reopening (the program I am in has a summer semester). Luckily I only have classes on Monday and Wednesday. Today I have received reviews from Roxie.88 and I am intrigued by the idea she presented. She asked me if I planned on giving Naruto the chakra chains. Honestly, I had not. I tend to forget them due to how little I actually remember about them. Are the chains a bloodline limit? I'm being honest with this question, I have seen numerous fics where they are and numerous where they are an Uzumaki technique in a vein similar to the Nara's Shadows; as well as a few where they are a bloodline but Naruto doesn't get them because only Uzumaki women can have it. I don't think my plans going forward would be harmed by Naruto getting them and I don't think it would make him too overpowered. So, I made it a poll: "Y/N: DO YOU WANT NARUTO TO HAVE THE CHAKRA CHAINS EVENTUALLY?" the poll opened 8/7/2020. The only problem I can think of going forward if I were to give it to him is that I have no idea how to teach him to use them. **

Chapter 10

A Return to Normalcy

_**Land of Hotsprings **_

_**9 days following Daybreak**_

Do you ever wonder if the god or gods who do exist look down on the world that may have been intended to be their masterpiece?

If so, do you wonder what they think of it?

Are they proud of it, flaws and all, or are they disgusted by it for the depths it has fallen to?

'_If there is a god who holds the domain of truth then they are disgusted with the dammed shinobi world.' _A disgruntled voice thought in disgust.

Anyone who looked at the large and muscular ninja would probably be scared off by his size before being scared off by his rather unique sword and skin.

Hoshigaki Kisame, master of the Sharkskin Greatsword Samehada, was a man of simpler things.

Though people tended to confuse that with simple minded. Choosing to see an unthinking brute in the blue skinned man.

Many called him a monster for being open about his love of fighting and bloodshed, he said at least he admitted it rather than hide behind lies.

Those who hid behind lies to justify slaughter were far more monstrous than anything Kisame could ever be.

Better to be an honest monster than a lying, dishonest bastard.

Most would look at him and see an unintelligent brute.

Those people didn't know the intelligence that lurked in the head of the shark like man.

Fewer knew or understood his disdain for the shinobi system, centered on the world of lies and deceit it created that one had to navigate to get anywhere.

His dream was to cut it down, to sever the lies and make a world of truth.

The whole reason he threw his lot in with Zetsu and Tobi was because they admitted to desiring to end the system that made such lies a necessity to the world.

Kisame knew that both had their reasons, Tobi was hard to figure out but Zetsu seemed to want to watch the world burn. Every time the strange dividual spoke about the Jyubi, Kisame saw a flame in his eyes that he recognized from the Jashin Cultists like that kid in Akatsuki already, Hidan. Devotion and awaiting the coming slaughter.

He met the mysterious duo back at the end of the Third Great Ninja War.

_Kisame remembered the chaos that unfolded after news got leaked to the public and the uninformed members of Kiri's shinobi forces, which included himself at the time, that Kiri's Black Ops division TIDE, had taken the Sanbi out of its current jinchuriki and implanted it into a girl from Konoha with the intent to use her as a Trojan horse by using a faulty seal to contain the Biju in her until she was able to return to her village where the seal would fail soon after and unleash the Turtle on the village. _

_The plan failed due to the girl being rescued by her teammates who managed to get her to Namikaze Minato, who was in the Land of Water for his own reasons, who apparently replaced the intentionally faulty seal with one of his own making that completely derailed the plan. _

_The news couldn't have come out at a worse time, Kiri had just lost the battle that ended their part in the war and two years ago the Rokubi had just been transferred from its previous host, who had sustained life threatening injuries that was beyond the medical corps' ability to treat, to its current host, a boy named Utakata who was still far too young to be used as a weapon. _

_Add in the messes that occurred just before the actual fighting began and during in the war itself, most notably the generation of the Swordsman that came before Kisame which included his teacher and the previous wielder of Samehada, Fuguki, being defeated, humiliated, and almost slaughtered down to the man by a Konoha Genin who died after the battle with not even a body left to study to see how he did it. _

_The chaos and rage that exploded from the years of fighting with nothing to show for gain was probably to be expected._

In hindsight, an assassin being sent to collect bounties on high ranking shinobi from a village in chaos was probably to be expected as well.

Whoever sent him didn't think that Fuguki would be able to fight back at all or long enough to kill or disable who they sent before their assassin could steal Samehada.

Whatever poison they used to disable and eventually kill the man was strong, probably from either Kusa or Suna.

Kiri also had a reputation for poisons, both concocted and extracted from the animals the Land of Water possessed, but this one was working fast and the visible symptoms were like nothing in Kiri's use.

_Fuguki-sensei was in pain and near death when Kisame found him and the crippled assassin laying in the building that Fuguki owned._

_Samehada was at Fuguki's side, whimpering as though it was powerless to help its master._

_Kisame was able to figure out what made the sword react like that, its healing capabilities were not helping Fuguki fight off the poison._

_He knew that death would most likely claim the man before Kisame could find proper help so he put the man out of his misery, sparing him from suffering through torture the poison was inflicting._

_Kisame looked over as Samehada crawled over to him and made a mournful noise before placing its hilt in Kisame's hand, telling him that it accepted him as its newest master._

_Kisame remembered the way he walked over to the man who had been sent to kill Fuguki and spoke:_ _"They say a dying man is an honest one. You will be dying here soon so do you care to prove that right? Who sent you, do you know who that was that you forced me to kill, and what were your exact orders?"_

_The man had no discernible signs of allegiance, not even a Missing Nin's scratched out forehead protector._

"_I was sent by some noble from the Land of Frost named Korekuta. That is Suikozan Fuguki. My orders were to kill him, bring proof of his death to one of the bounty stations and collect the money, bring his sword to my employer and then we would split the bounty money."_

_Kisame raised an eyebrow: "I know how much the highest bounty put on his head was, were you really going to split it and walk away?"_

_The man was silent for a moment before he answered: "No. I believe my employer was going to try and kill me when it came time to pay up."_

_Kisame smirked: "Probably, doesn't matter now. You won't be leaving and he won't be getting Samehada nor the bounty on Fuguki-sensei."_

_Samehada screeched with rage as Kisame reared back and swung, beheading Fuguki's killer._

_A few weeks later, this Korekuta would receive a package containing the assassin's severed head with a note saying "Your days are numbered. I will be coming for you one day."_

_The Mizukage called him to come to his office a day after he reported Fuguki's death._

_Kisame despised the old man. The Third Mizukage had led Kiri into vicious slaughters in the name of the village's greatness supposedly, but Kisame saw through that to see a man wanting glory and sacrificing lives he was in charge of to gain it. _

_That day after Fuguki's death showed what truly hid beneath that lie, a man who was being used as a pawn by another._

_The Third Mizukage was a puppet and Tobi and Zetsu were the ones pulling the strings._

_Both agreed with Kisame that the world was rotten and needed to be changed._

_Tobi and Zetsu showed a way to this change that would come like the Rising Dawn of a new day._

Kisame's life had never been the same after that day.

The business he was on now was to go kill that bastard who sent the assassin after Fuguki.

Kisame may not have necessarily liked the man, he certainly didn't hate him, but it felt like duty to the wielder of Samehada to avenge the stolen life of the previous wielder.

If the dead man walking took Kisame's promise seriously, then this might be a challenge or an entertaining distraction at least.

If he was one of the nobles who believed he was entitled to whatever he wanted, then Kisame was doing the world a favor by killing him.

Kisame despised those who believed they were entitled to whatever they wanted, no matter the reason. You earned what you got if you were truly deserving of it.

For the same reason, Kisame hoped that Nanashi wasn't going to be around long. Something about him struck Kisame as being highly entitled.

Kisame got the feeling that if he ever spoke to the masked Byakugan holder for long enough to get him to talk about his goals, he would end up taking Samehada and slicing Nanashi up into chunks.

If Nanashi stuck around then sooner or later, he and Kisame would be personally working together most likely at some point and Nanashi would talk and then Kisame would be tempted.

Kisame would deal with it when it came. The sacrifices made to achieve our dreams.

Attached to his back writhed the Sharkskin Greatsword, Samehada, wrapped in bandages to hide its more distinct appearance.

The sword remembered its wielders, and it wanted revenge every bit as much as Kisame.

Few understood that the sword was truly a living being.

The creature that composed the sword had a chakra network and a will of its own.

It was picky about who could use it and it could decide someone was or wasn't worthy of wielding it at a moment's notice.

That particular trait separated it from its siblings, the other swords of Kirigakure.

Each one had its own sense of self and chose their true wielder, but the others tended to choose based on those who their wielders trained as their successor or who killed the previous owner and took up the blade.

Samehada would lash out and attack anyone who wasn't accepted as its wielder who tried to use it. The other swords merely locked off part of their potential, sealing off their true power.

Samehada was feared due to its appetite, the sword could engorge upon chakra and never be truly full. Storing the stolen energy and funneling it to the living sword's master to strengthen them and to give them advanced healing and almost never ending stamina.

The blade could even detect the chakra of others and point it out to its wielder.

This trait in particular revealed a particular trait of a stranger who walked into the restaurant Kisame was sitting in.

'_He has no chakra. It isn't that his chakra is so weak that Samehada cannot detect him, he has no detectable network._

_He must be a foreigner from outside the Elemental nation. Maybe even further, probably one of those other continents that I have heard about.'_

The man was lightly tanned skinned, with black hair tied back into a short pony tail. Plain looking overall but carried an aura to him that suggested he was no stranger to fighting and killing.

Closer inspection revealed he was slouching to hide his true height and was wearing relatively baggy clothes that was most likely intended to cover his build. He was taking steps to further that image of plain averageness.

Outfit wise, he was nothing special: white dress shirt, red tie, black pants, and brown overcoat.

The impression of several knifes were just barely visible to Kisame's eyes.

The man placed an order before moving to sit down at the chair near Kisame.

If he was willing to sit here despite other places being free and didn't bat an eye at Kisame, then most likely he was used to things being strange.

Kisame decided to talk, nothing better to do while waiting for food.

"Where you heading, stranger?" Kisame spoke to the man seated near him.

The man looked over and spoke: "Konoha. I heard that an old friend of mine was heading that way. I'm hoping I can either beat him there, meeting up with him when he arrives or catch him before he leaves. After that, I'm hoping to be able to head out to Ancestors to meet up with someone I met some years back who I heard lives up that way. What about you?"

"Frost's Capital region. There is a noble there that I need to pay back for hiring some assassin who killed someone I knew. After that I'm heading to Ancestors to meet my partner who I have been assigned to." Kisame responded.

The man nodded. "Out for revenge, huh. I can respect that. I have done similar things for similar reasons and know people, both friends and acquaintances, who have done it as well. The name's Koryo Hideki. At least around here. The language from around where I'm from and my name comes from does not translate well at all. Better to just use a local name."

"Hoshigaki Kisame. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Hideki responded.

Kisame voiced his thoughts: "I figured you weren't from the Elemental Nations. Who are you planning to try to visit in Ancestors, Hideki-san?"

Hideki responded: "A kid that a comrade of mine and myself saved a while back, probably about eight or nine years ago, probably closer to ten honestly. We were tracking a nasty monster that had either snuck in to or was smuggled in from another continent into the Elemental Nations. The kid had stumbled on it and held out as long as he could before he was down for the count. Did pretty good for himself for fighting a monster like that for the very first time with no training on how to do so. Me and Ryu got in between the kid and the monster and got its attention on us after I blew off a chunk of its side. We killed it and took care of the kid until he was well enough to travel on his own and protect himself. I taught him a few things while we rested. Anyways, I want to see what he made of his life after we left."

Kisame nodded: "Sounds reasonable. Do you know the kid's name?"

Hideki smiled: "He said his name was Moyo."

Kisame remained calm while his thoughts rolled: _'Could it be the same Moyo who was made my partner? Could be. Maybe I'll ask Moyo-san when I join up with him.'_

Kisame smiled: "I hope what you find is to your liking. Don't be surprised if fate has other plans. The bitch is a pain to deal with."

Hideki snorted: "On Fate being a bitch we solidly agree, but my views on fate are far deeper. Any fool who believes fate is some insurmountable force or obstacle is not worth my time. I know far better than anyone through both experience and a gift I have, that Fate is not set in stone, it can be changed and it can be challenged. We may have a destination to travel to, but we forge the path we take to it through our actions and decisions and through them can we re-forge what we find at our destination. Anything can change. I told the kid as much."

Kisame thought for a moment before nodding: "I like that idea. Means that there is a chance we can fix this world."

Hideki continued: "Me too. I have a friend who was sent alongside myself to off someone who found a way to control fate for others. The asshole was an enemy of ours and was planning on rewriting the fates of others to benefit him, thinking himself to be higher than a god. We were sent to stop the bastard and my friend put an end to that bastard's miserable life but the asshole couldn't find the dignity to take his death with grace and instead spited my friend by rewriting his fate. He is fated to die by his one of his students' hand. Specifically, the hands of his greatest student."

Kisame grimaced: "That sounds… disquieting to say the least. No man willing to act like that should have the power to control the future."

Hideki nodded: "It does and I agree. My gift managed to inform us who it is going to be and we already know she has more than enough reason to hate him and plenty of reason to want him dead over. He takes it with graceful acceptance but he is trying to change it so that she won't have to take his life. Gods know that she probably wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did it. She really looks up to him. She has reason to want it but the kid chooses not to hate him for his mistakes and failures towards her, she chooses to focus on the future rather than be chained by the mistakes of the past. She doesn't want to be fate's pawn either, even if she doesn't know what is coming on the road ahead yet."

Kisame smirked: "The kid sounds like she has a view on life that more could use."

Hideki nodded: "I agree. Kisame-san," He paused for a moment before turning and looking at Kisame with eyes that appeared to look toward Kisame, but not at the blue skinned swordsman. Then he continued: "I must give you a word of warning. Through my gift, I see all of your paths through your life that are visible to me where you stay with the Akatsuki and somewhere along each one, you come to confront a man unlike any other. Beware the one that is called the Blighted Shadow, the one who sends his foes screaming, in fury and defiance and fear, at the mere sight of him and the idea that his wrath may be kindled against them, for they know that it means the end of their dominion and soon they shall be torn from their thrones and cast down into the dust. Though I will admit that the future is constantly being rewritten, nothing is set in stone so maybe you will create a path that avoids him, though with the amount of times he shows up, I'd say you have your work cut out for you. But, I can say with absolute certainty that all roads lead to the Fourth Great Ninja War."

Kisame went stiff: _'How the hell did he know about Akatsuki?! It has to be a mistake or he really can see the future. It isn't completely unlikely. Supposedly some summon clans have sages who master the Sage Arts so well that they can peer into the secrets of the universe. Maybe what Hideki-san can do is something similar, even if he has no chakra. He said that he could see paths for my life. That means that my choices are my own and they affect how things will go for me. I'll just have to play things carefully from now on. Maybe this 'Blighted Shadow' can be avoided like Hideki-san says might be possible. That last part about a Fourth Great Ninja War is definitely concerning. One more war to survive in order to build my world of truth.'_

Kisame spoke: "I will take that into consideration. Thank you for the concern, Hideki-san."

"A pleasure." Was the foreigner's response.

The two went silent when their food was brought out.

Kisame was glad that there were some people who could live life without having to lie about everything.

Though fear at what this 'Blighted Shadow' could be had taken root in his heart.

Fear of what it meant for his world of truth.

Xxx

_**Land of Ancestors **_

_**10 Days following Daybreak**_

A pair of members of the Makayu walked into the training ground that was being used in a spar between two that was quickly becoming like a grudge match.

Alongside them and the recent addition to the room's population were two other members of the hybrid clan. They were Ashi, the right hand that assisted Moyo in running the clan, and Yaku, the clan's head medic.

Within the training duel: Mai's kusarigama struck against Moyo's chained blade.

Slashes from the sickle end of the kusarigama clashed against the chained blade's elongated kunai tip being used like a long dagger.

Grace and skill from years of training was evident in both styles.

At range, the weight attached to the rather lengthy chain was being slung at the opponent to attack or used to parry the snaking strikes from the chained blade, with the sickle occasionally being used for large and sweeping slashes.

The two put distance between each other and began weaving hand seals.

Mai screamed her attack name first: "Fire Release: Phoenix Flame Blast!"

Moyo followed: "Fire Release: Wraith's Breath!"

An intense red blast of flame was spat out by Mai while a thin yet powerful beam of yellow colored flames emerged from Moyo's mouth, the heated lighting of which almost made it look as though his skull was visible.

The two flames clashed until both were canceled and the two began waiting for their opponent's next actual move.

Mai spun the weighted end of her dual weapon and waited for the time when enough momentum had been gathered and the right opportunity had presented itself.

The moment it did she flung the weighted end of her preferred weapon at her opponent, keeping the blade portion in hand in case her opponent managed to get in close.

Against quite a few opponents, they would be hard pressed to properly counter Mai's blend of offense and defense.

Her opponent simply dodged the initial attack as best he could before hurling his blade at the hybrid kunoichi.

Moyo was an opponent who had faced similar styles before. Strategies to counter Mai's offense and break through her defense were already being put into motion.

Scorch marks, from flames channeled into the blades and displays of mastery over Fire Release in various ways, littered the massive subterranean training room.

When the blade reached Mai, she deflected it and attempted to hook it prevent Moyo from simply retrieving it.

The moment she deflected and went to attempt to hook it, Moyo pulled the blade back to him and made a single hand seal before applying his hand to a seal on the blade of his weapon, announcing: "Fire Release: Infernal Scorpion Sting!" coating the blade in eerie yellow flames.

Mai responded with a hand seal of her own before touching the seal applied to her kusarigama's blade and shouting: "Fire Release: Phoenix's Talon!" causing it to erupt in bright red flames.

The two rushed and began their melee once again.

Flaming blades slashed and parried against one another.

The movements almost resembled the grace of a dance.

Albeit one where the partners were almost violently against one another.

Eventually a cloud of dust and smoke was kicked up and Moyo made a few hand seals quickly under the cover before being consumed by a brief pillar of fire which Mai witnessed the end of.

Mai's eyes raced around the room trying to predict where the Hybrid Leader would reappear.

Then she felt a hand grab her shoulder tightly and place the blade at the end of his chain against her throat. Mai almost attempted to continue the fight before her opponent spoke up.

Moyo spoke: "I believe that is enough for now. Good work, you stressed me enough to make me believe I might lose."

Moyo released his grip and holstered his weapon. Mai turned around and nodded.

The two left the scarred training field they had been using and joined the other two known occupants of the room while the unannounced ones made their way towards them.

Ashi spoke: "I wish I could fight like that." Self-doubt flooded her statement with a frown on her currently unmasked face.

Mai lost the slight red tinge her face had after resting for a moment before she turned to her fellow Makayu and spoke: "I know you have not fought much Ashi, but I believe with enough training you might be able to. You just have to believe in your own ability."

Ashi smiled with the reassurance and she responded: "Thank you for your vote of confidence, I will try to live up to it."

Moyo spoke: "Mai's right, Ashi. You may not be the strongest or most skilled but what you do for us and have done for us is far more important than you give yourself credit for. You need to believe you can be more than what you are."

Ashi nodded in understanding.

Yaku spoke up: "I do believe Mai is adapting to her new eye extremely well. We have confirmed that her Mangekyo was copied with the exact amount of development and she has progressed well ever since you started these spars."

Then one of the silent newcomers spoke with a voice that was just deep enough to sound male if an effort was made but had distinct feminine sounds to it: "And I think it helped Moyo-sama improve considerably as well."

The other spoke as well with a similar voice: "Though both of you still have plenty of room for improvement."

The other occupants of the room turned to notice the newly announced entrants.

One was one who had been gone for a long while on a mission while the other had been put on leave to recover from fatigue.

The shorter of the two was wearing a hooded dark brown poncho style cloak with text strewn at the front beneath the hood, with a bandage turban concealing the top of the assassin's head and a mask of bandages concealing the assassin's face. Mid length black hair came out of the turban, cut short in the front and allowed to grow in the back before being tied together in a braid. Distinctive red eyes showed on what little was visible of her face, despite her Sharingan not being activated. Beneath the cloak was dark blue colored, and black in some places, clothing and light grey thin armor plating over the fabric in key areas with mesh armor beneath her clothes with a relatively small yet finely linked chain wrapped around her left gauntlet and two sheathes at her back under the cloak containing two small yet long single edged blades. Four holsters with kunai were attached to her thighs. Any skin that was not directly covered by her clothes was wrapped in bandages as well. The clothes she wore concealed a lot of the distinguishing curves that would mark her as a woman while revealing just enough to make the assassin look incredibly androgynous. Her uniform was designed to be shed or donned should she be discovered while scouting to perform a kill to take advantage of the covering of most distinguishing features.

Red eyes may be a slightly rare trait but it was common enough to be dismissed.

The taller of the two was another woman but leaner in build but with distinct muscle on her. She wore dark blue pants with a sleeveless gi style shirt and brown boot style sandals and two tattoos on her right arm, one in the shape of a sword colored blue with the kanji for water on it and the text _"To cleave my enemies"_ written above it in fine small kanji only visible up close and a red one in the shape of a naginata with the kanji for fire on it and above it in small text _"To defend my comrades." _Her hair was black and most of it was tied back into a bun at the back of her head with a single long lock falling down in front of her face. She wore a white mask with two eyehole, behind which two red eyes like the other woman's gleamed, around which larger eyelike artwork around the eyeholes, with pronounced lash-like designs and a tear dropping from the eye, with the holes forming the pupils of the designs. At the center of the forehead on the mask was a large eye, similar to the designs around the eyeholes, with the kanji for "Truth" in the pupil of the design, symbolizing _'Through the Mind's Eye, do we see the Truth.'_ At her back was a large single-edged great sword with a slight curve to it, almost identical to the sword she had tattooed on her arm and on her belt was a collapsible naginata.

Moyo smiled before he spoke: "Welcome home Kage. I see you have been well. It would seem like Yaku's recommendation of time off to rest was what you needed. And you as well Arasha, I wasn't expecting you to return just yet from your mission, I take it that you found no leads on Nanashi's Identity."

Kage nodded: "I have been. I needed the rest. I'm ready for my next mission, Moyo-sama."

Arasha sighed before she spoke: "Sadly you're right, Moyo, I didn't find a damn thing on that man's true identity. He doesn't exist outside of Akatsuki apparently. By the way, as the two of us came in and informed the on duty guards of where we were headed, we were asked to inform you about something. "

Moyo went serious: "Very well, what is it?"

Kage spoke: "I was told that sentries have spotted Kudo making his way back. According to what we were told, he disregarded both his orders and his mission and is heading back here, he will be here in a week."

Moyo lowered his head in thought: "I should have expected this kind of behavior from him. He will be here sooner than I would like, I would like to have at least two I know I can rely on to assist me in taking him down. Before Daybreak, I would have preferred it be both you and Arasha to have at my back alongside Mai now, but I need Kage to return to her work as our primary assassin. I believe Mai, Arasha, and myself would be sufficient enough to subdue him enough to subject him to my Okuninushi, but we will need to be careful and try not to take unnecessary risk unless absolutely necessary while being prepared to kill my brother if he manages to resist the technique."

Kage nodded: "I understand. What is my mission?"

Moyo spoke: "During the attack on Konoha, a pair Uchiha siblings were kidnapped to be used as payment to Orochimaru. They are due to be delivered to him tomorrow. I want you to infiltrate what is officially known as the Land of Rice Paddies but unofficially known as the Land of Sound and search Orochimaru's instillations, destroy anything that he may have produced based on the experiments he subjected them to, locate the Uchihas and evacuate them if possible but if their condition is too unstable to be evacuated then you are allowed to kill them but you must destroy the bodies. Orochimaru with the Sharingan and Eternal Mangekyo at his disposal is not a prospect I would want to have to worry about."

Kage gave her affirmation: "Give me an hour and a half and I'll be ready."

Moyo retorted: "I was going to allow three but if you can prepare in that time then so be it."

Yaku spoke up: "If you believe you can retrieve either one or both of the bodies, bring them here if possible if you're forced to kill them."

Moyo nodded: "I'm adding that to the objective. Use your discretion to determine if it is possible to accomplish."

Kage nodded in affirmation before bowing and leaving to begin preparing.

Before she left Arasha stopped and looked her in the eyes: "Return home safely, Imouto."

Kage nodded: "I will try my best, Nee-san."

Then the assassin walked out, leaving Arasha with the others.

Ashi turned to the hybrid leader and asked: "Are you sure the three of you can beat Kudo? You said he was as strong as you."

Moyo nodded: "He is. Kudo and I were produced as part of the same batch of hybrids. He knows generally how my mind works, while I barely understand how his works now other than pure cruelty whenever he can inflict it. He didn't act like what he does now compared to then, but looking back I remember seeing the warning signs but just writing it off as quirks of behavior. But as the scars began to cover his face, more and more of it began to surface and I began to realize that beneath the skin of my brother was a monster that was breaking free."

Moyo then noticed that during his exposition his fist curled tightly, almost achingly so.

Moyo shook his head and relaxed his hand before continuing: "But like I told Kage, I believe we can win against him if we fight smart. Mai is skilled enough to apply decent pressure to me, then she ought to be able to apply it to Kudo. And with Arasha and myself added to the mix, it is simply a matter of either outlasting his stamina or overwhelming him long enough to land a decisive blow.

Our single biggest concern to a full fight is his unique Mangekyo technique, Agyo, a name that fits his violent nature which allows him to generate and control shadow doubles. The jutsu drains chakra to maintain the technique and takes a small cost to generate new doubles but the doubles he generates are unable to use his full capabilities and he has to mentally process the data they perceive, their sight is not linked, and his known limit is two doubles generated and maintained at a time. The primary weakness lies in Kudo's mismanagement that prevented him from seeking to improve his limits with the jutsu, every double he generates and maintains above his limit causes an exponential increase in the cost to maintain the jutsu, and, as I theorize there being, not seeing if there is potential to the jutsu beyond generating doubles, similar to Kamui with its phasing and warping capabilities.

Rest up and get ready, until the day before he is due to enter the ambush point, we will be training as long and as hard as we can. But now Arasha will be joining us, we need her experience to prevail.

We may not be able to bring my brother back, I doubt it is even possible, but we can at least stop him and lay him to rest."

Ashi nodded.

Arasha spoke: "Ashi, I heard what you said in regards to your own strength. I believe you are stronger than you give yourself credit for like Mai said. If you wish, I will test you to prove it."

Ashi nodded after a moment of consideration: "I think I would appreciate that greatly, Arasha-taicho. If you believe in me then I'll try my best."

Arasha turned to Moyo: "I was told that the Daybreak plan on Konoha was going to be used to purge the remaining Black flames. Did it work for the most part except for Kudo?"

Moyo nodded: "For the most part. We failed to kill two including Kudo but the other, Mai, joined us."

Arasho seemed unconvinced and further queried: "Even Kohga and his gang?"

Moyo shook his head: "Kohga and his cohorts disappeared on a mission to Tundra four months before we began marshaling for Daybreak. A month after I ordered your mission to find links to discover Nanashi's identity behind the mask."

Arasha sighed. "Kohga and his group are cockroaches, they refuse to die and will almost always somehow find a way to survive. Until we see the bodies, we assume they are alive but unable to act."

Moyo nodded: "Agreed."

Arasha rolled her shoulders before speaking: "Are you two kids ready to start this?"

The two hybrids nodded before they entered ready stances to prepare for the next round of training.

Hoping that they would be able to put the lunatic known as Kudo down.

Xxx

_**Land of Fire**_

_**Konoha**_

_**2 weeks following Daybreak**_

A sense of normalcy had managed to be reclaimed by the village.

With the damage done to infrastructure mostly repaired and the lives claimed by the sudden attack laid to rest, life returned to mostly business as usual.

Today marked the first day of classes since the attack had taken place.

The official reason was to redistribute manpower towards repairs and search for traps that might have been left.

The unofficial reason was to vet the academy teachers to see how deep Mizuki's betrayal ran. If he was the sole product of that weed, or if he was part of a bigger whole.

Thorough interrogation of all academy staff as well as questioning the offender and probing of the treacherous TA's mind yielded what they needed.

Mental probings were performed on the suspected traitors provided that their record or behavior showed enough cause for concern. Though such fears were proved to be unfounded after further scrutiny.

Morino Ibiki, the village's head of the Torture and Interrogation Division, was informed about what exactly he needed and a few secrets to better his questioning process for both the known traitor and potential traitors.

The one who provided the mind probe was Yamanaka Fu, one of the mind reading Yamanaka Clansmen who was within the T&I division, his loyalty to his former sensei Obito saw to it that he performed his task to the best of his ability and would ensure no one learned what Obito had told him to help streamline the investigation.

The investigation concluded that no one was aware of Mizuki's dealings with the invaders and anyone who noticed the signs of suspicious behavior had enough cause for disregard that it could be stated with most certainty that none were directly aware of or held enough verifiable suspicion to what Mizuki was involved in to be accused of negligence for failure to report.

The one problem in the mess was Mizuki's "friend" Umino Iruka, who held deep conflicted feelings over the whole ordeal to the point of submitting himself to probing despite having no cause for mandatory extraction of information.

That affair determined that Umino was fit to continue as a TA until time came to award him a full teacher status.

Probably would be given to him within the end of the current school year due to dedication to protecting the students during the incident alongside Kakashi.

The traitorous bastard had been confirmed as a solo. Not even his girlfriend, a chunin in the medical division named Tsubaki, was aware of what he was planning or had done until she was informed of it by the interrogator.

The Hokage said Ibiki was free to do whatever he wanted to the traitor to get information, provided no laws were broken, and then dispose of him.

Ibiki smiled as he was basically given permission to torture the dumb bastard to death.

The Kami knew that Mizuki had earned that much by betraying his own for selfish and hollow reasons.

It took time to break him, there were some things that even a mind probe couldn't reveal. What Ibiki wanted to know was why did the bastard sacrifice a potentially good future for whatever power this "Zetsu's" followers had promised him?

At first Mizuki acted like he did nothing wrong. A few days alone in his thoughts was more than enough to break that.

Then he started ranting about the jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata. Called them demons because they were the prisons for Biju.

That became all Mizuki ranted about for the next day, which Ibiki decided that Mizuki needed a few more days in solitary.

Ibiki decided to visit Mizuki the following day to see if the traitor's tune had changed.

It hadn't.

Ibiki listened to the rant for an hour before he decided to leave the man to his thoughts for a few more days.

He left the traitor with a few choice words: _"You keep calling those kids demons, but to me it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of that as much as others. I think deep down you know it isn't true but you keep saying it because you knew that Zetsu was going to kill them and you were trying to absolve yourself of the guilt of indirectly killing innocent children."_

A few days later and Mizuki changed his tune entirely. He felt as though Konoha was stifling his growth when it was clear to Ibiki that Mizuki didn't put a lot of effort into training.

Questioning continued for another day and soon after Mizuki was executed.

ANBU took his body away to be disposed of, no telling if a post mortem bio weapon was hidden in the traitor's body designed to release a certain amount of time following death.

Especially with this Zetsu creep.

As Ibiki walked, he went by a café where a tanned man with black hair tied back sat outside drinking something, looking as though he was waiting for someone to show up.

As he continued to stalk forward, Ibiki noticed a man he vaguely recognized as being a frequent visitor to the village in his periphery.

The man at the café seemed to notice the man Ibiki recognized and perked up and called out: "Hey, Hisashi!"

Ibiki continued on but he definitely heard the response: "What the hell are you doing here…?" Ibiki couldn't quite make out the last bit, it sounded like it was supposed to be a name but definitely wasn't one that the scarred interrogator recognized.

Ibiki just continued on.

-X-

_**Konoha hospital**_

"Stay off that foot for two days, got it?" Rin instructed a patient who nodded before taking the crutch she handed him and limped off.

Shizune walked in and smiled: "Never thought I would be so happy to see someone hurt like that."

Rin raised an eyebrow, but did not respond.

Isobu decided to speak up: **Do you think she will realize just how sadistic that sounded?**

'_Yes, just give her a minute, Isobu.' _

Shizune went shocked and embarrassed after a moment before clarifying: "I-I meant because that is a fairly common injury and you…you only really s-see an injury like that here and uh… I'm going to shut up before I say something else wrong."

Isobu chuckled: **For a while I thought Shizune was one of the few ninjas here who had no major antic or quirk, that was before I saw her chewing out your new boss over her drinking and gambling problems and before she started saying somethings that could be misinterpreted and then she tries to clarify before digging herself deeper. **

'_Eh, that is pretty normal compared to Gai or Kakashi. I think she just needs to time to adjust to the environment.'_

**Probably. We all grow as we live, Shizune just needs to time to grow into her new situation.**

Rin laughed. "Don't worry, I understand what you mean. I think I would want to deal with just mundane injuries in one place after being on the road for so long."

Shizune let out a sigh and smiled: "Yes, that is exactly what I mean, Rin-san."

Rin didn't mention it but she was glad to be back to the mundane injuries rather than sorting through paper work like she had been the last two days. Some refugees from Taki had arrived the other day and they had brought with them documents from the village's medical division and Rin got picked to sort through the mess. Sometimes life hated her. Had to deal with that eating up free time she might have used for wedding planning.

Still didn't have a date in mind.

Though the sorting did give some interesting information on Fu. Seemed that she had a genetic mutation from birth that was mostly harmless and had the makings of creating a brand new bloodline. Apparently Taki's medical division had missed it at first but discovered it long after the Nanabi was implanted into her.

The file also indicated that the Nanabi had been implanted soon after her birth and they had confirmed that no complications that would result in an early death occurred.

The file stated that Taki's doctor in charge of Fu's medical care hypothesized that Fu would have eventually developed a bloodline over time due to her mutations but the Nanabi's presence in her system had altered the girl's development away from random chance and towards insect based traits. Nothing major beyond silk production (pretty common insect trait), ant like body strength (apply the strength to lift 10 times your body weight to a punch and add in chakra enhancement), and the development of wings under her skin in the hip region that once matured would theoretically allow the girl flight.

Sheer dumb luck gave her some pretty useful skills for later.

Rin shook from her thoughts and shrugged in response to Shizune: "I put up with Obito-kun sticking his foot in his mouth for 10 years, I got fluent at understanding messed up sentences. And you don't have to be so formal Shizune."** It's like watching your beloved Obito back when I first got implanted into you trip over his words constantly, except she does it less frequently but somehow worse. **_'I know, though some of his trip ups were endearingly funny.' _**I'll grant you that one.**

While Rin was bantering with Isobu, Shizune responded: "Yes, Rin-san." With barely repressed giggles sounding off as well.

Before the two could go anywhere, they heard the door to the hospital open fast and a panicked voice shout: "Hey we need a medic!"

Rin's eyes rolled. "I know that voice. What happened to him now?!"

The two medics ran to the pair entering the hospital, finding Shisui with Izumi on leaning on his shoulder for balance and support and refusing to place one foot on the ground.

Rin moved towards the girl to get her to a room: "What happened?!"

Shisui spoke: "We were sparing, she slipped up trying to dodge me and I messed up a maneuver, ended up slamming her into a tree, with her leg caught between me and the tree, and her screaming like hell after I got up."

Rin sucked in a breath: "And knowing your speed, it could be very bad. We need to get her to a room in case it is something that needs to be operated. It could be a break. Shizune. Take Izumi's other side from Shisui and help me."

Shizune nodded and did as told but a small slip caused the Uchiha girl to put pressure on her injured leg and irritate the injury: "FUCKING DAMMIT!" with eyes squeezed tightly shut and jaws clamped tightly trying not to keep yelling.

Rin spoke while Shizune worked to help relieve the pressure and pain on the limb: "That sounded painful whatever it is." Shisui nodded in worry. Isobu rolled his eyes: **Really, Rin. That was an understatement if I have ever heard one. Or it might be an overstatement. Maybe it is just a paper cut and some elaborate prank.**

Rin mentally rolled her eyes at the comment: _'I know pained cries and that was real.' _**I was joking, I have heard enough pained cries as well to know the sound of real pain. Some of it I even caused.**

Rin shook from the conversation to look over at Shizune and Shisui: "You ready to carry her?"

The two nodded and carried her to an examination room.

A half hour later and Rin breathed in relief and spoke to Shisui: "Alright, it's nothing too serious, it's not a break. Her leg just got hurt. I don't think it is serious, though just to be safe, Izumi should take the next week off and stay off it for the rest of today. At least. She was given pain medication to help deal with the worst of it. Shisui. Take Izumi home and watch her for a few hours. Make sure she doesn't decide to do something really stupid while high on Pain Killers."

Shisui nodded before he started laughing.

Rin raised an eyebrow: "What's funny?"

"Nothing really. People been telling me that I need to work on my split second reflexes and in motion maneuvering. I listened just not as well as I should have been and this was what happened. Man life has a hell of a sense of humor. At least it was just hurt and not an actual full break." Shisui responded

Rin shrugged: "That's an optimistic way of looking at it."

Shisui smiled and shrugged back: "Eh, what did you expect? I'm a glass half full kind of guy."

Shizune walked in and Rin turned to her: "Shizune, help Shisui get Izumi home. Go straight to lunch afterwards."

Shizune nodded and went to help the two Uchiha.

Shisui smiled: "So you're that medic that showed up the day after things went to hell, eh? Name's Uchiha Shisui."

Shizune nodded as she began trying to lift Izumi: "Kato Shizune."

Shisui stopped and thought for a moment: "Kato… You're related to Kato Dan, Tsunade-sama's dead fiancé. You're her apprentice."

"Hmm-hmm."

Rin stopped listening after that, well to Shisui and Shizune anyways.

Knowing Shisui meant knowing that Shisui tended to cut the tension remaining from a tense situation by talking very rapidly about minor things.

Rin eventually left the hospital and went to go eat lunch, picking a small restaurant close to the hospital.

Before she could take the first bite of her meal, she saw two men standing on the road speaking with Obito and Jiraiya.

Before her thoughts could wonder much, something else caught her attention.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke walking down the street, probably towards Ichiraku's.

But before they went pass the crossroad, one of the two men looked at them and in an instant, Rin could tell something was wrong.

His eyes went wide and bloodshot and his body went stiff.

Then the veins started around his skin began to become thick and noticeable as the veins in his eyes grew red and noticeable for a moment as Rin began getting up to help.

His eyes began going entirely red and blood began running down from his nose out of both nostrils.

Isobu began reacting: **What on earth is wrong with him? **_'I don't know, but that won't stop me from helping!' _

"Hideki's suffering an overload! He must have viewed the future of someone or ones who had their every waking moment rewriting so much of the road ahead. I have seen him like this before but then it wasn't this bad." The man explained.

"What can we do? Maybe a doctor or medic could help him." Obito said.

"We need to knock him out of his future-sight. Best way is to hit him so hard that his brain needs to reorient." The man responded before punching the man he was with.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT HIM WORSE?!" Rin screamed at the scene as she rushed over to help the man.

-X-

_**Elsewhere in Konoha**_

_**Konoha Ninja Academy**_

"Students we have a new member of our class. I'd like for you all to welcome Fu." The Academy teacher spoke to the class as the Taki Jinchuriki stood at the front.

Fu fidgeted slightly from all the attention on her. She only knew Naruto and Hinata somewhat but not very well. She had met a few of the other students in the village in the two weeks she had lived here so far. Well, a better statement would be 'ran into them while walking around and saw them and vaguely remembered them.'

The one who stuck out the most was the boy sitting in the corner wearing sunglasses, who seemed to be staring right at her. Fu couldn't really tell, it was hard to tell where his eyes were focused on even if you could tell the general direction he was focused on.

'_I wish they wouldn't stare at me.' _Fu thought.

**Look on the bright side, at least they either don't know about you being a jinchuriki. You have a chance to make friends without that tainting their view of you from the get go. **Chomei's voice fired off.

Fu sighed mentally, _'True. Heck, I'm still trying to digest what Kagome-nee told me about that. Makes everything in Taki make sense.' _The girl grumbled remembering the treatment she got from the villagers in Taki.

That had been a conversation she wasn't expecting. Kagome made sure Fu had understood the information she had been told and had no misconceptions.

Just like Fu had come to expect from Kagome.

Kagome had to leave a few days later for her first mission as part of Konoha's forces.

Before Fu could continue her conversation with Chomei, the teacher turned towards the young jinchuriki with a gentle smile on his face: "Fu, go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us about yourself."

Fu nodded. "I'm Fu like he said. Um…I moved here from Taki…which also doesn't happen to…exist anymore so…yeah. I like Konoha so far. I don't really know what else to say…"

Her friend helped her: **Be honest. Tell them one thing you really like.**

Fu smiled: "I really, really like bugs!"

Reactions varied.

The pink haired girl and the blonde haired girl sitting next to each other both grimaced as if wondering how a girl could actually _like_ bugs. If they couldn't accept her interest then it was on them.

Naruto and Hinata didn't react, they had already heard that the other week. Their friend, a boy with black spikey hair and the same clan crest as the guy who met with her and Kagome alongside the Hokage when they entered the village, merely raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

Other kids had some notable reactions, but the most notable was the kid with shaded glasses who raised his head up in interest.

The teacher asked her to take a seat wherever she chose to. She debated for a moment before heading to the back of the room where the boy with sunglasses sat.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Fu asked.

The boy shook his head.

'_Is he being cold or just doesn't like talking that much?'_ Fu wondered as she sat down.

Then she looked around the area she sat at, kind of plain but it would do. Then she began listening and heard a distinct buzzing sound.

She looked around to try and find the source and found it sitting on her table.

"Well look at you, little guy. You look like some kind of beetle. You weren't there before so how and when did you get here?" Fu spoke quietly, unaware of the stare issued at her by the boy sitting next to her analyzing her interactions with the insect.

The beetle issued a quiet chirping sound in response.

Fu giggled: "Hehe. I'm sorry, little guy, didn't mean to call you the wrong type of insect, though a kikaichu is a type of beetle. Parasitic, yes and symbiotically so but still a beetle. Though you still didn't answer my question."

The boy blinked at her understanding the kikaichu's response. Seemed that her claim about liking bugs had some truth to it and a little more to it than simple fascination.

The beetle made noises to communicate again and Fu went perplexed by the information. "Huh, you said your hive put you here and asked you to buzz to get my attention? But where is your hive?"

The boy spoke: "My ally is referring to me."

Fu turned and blinked: "You're his hive, as in you keep him in your body?"

The boy nodded.

Fu busted out smiling: "That is so cool! You have to be one of those Aburames I've heard about!"

The boy nodded. "Aburame Shino."

Fu's smile grew. "This is great! Absolutely amazing! I always wanted to meet and be friends with an Aburame and then I decide to sit next to one on a whim! This is excellent!"

Shino spoke before Fu could continue: "I was wondering how you could understand my kikaichu's communication so well."

Fu nodded: "Uh, it's the result of the bloodline I have. Apparently I'm the start of a brand new bloodline centered on bug traits."

Shino raised an eyebrow: "That sounds rather interesting. I assume it is hard to learn to properly control and utilize a bloodline limit when you are the only one who has had it."

Fu nodded: "Yeah it is."

Fu's expression dropped to a frown: "Ah crap, I wasn't supposed to talk about it with anyone."

Fu started face palming repeating '_stupid, stupid, stupid'_ under her breath.

Shino tried to speak: "Let me guess, you were told to keep it secret from anyone who might speak of it to power hungry relatives looking to be the puppet master behind a new clan or minor clans who seek to add a bloodline to their genetics, or to protect you from bloodline clans who would seek to force you to join their clan and breed out your unique genetics to a new generation."

Fu blinked a few times and stared: "Huh, I guess that's why Kagome told me not to talk about it. You won't blab about it to anyone, will you?"

Shino shook his head: "While a few in my clan would fit that description and would seek to use you for their own ends, the majority of my clan thinks of Konoha as the hive and each individual member of it as a drone. To do something that might result in duress to another would be quite counter-productive towards developing a functional relation that is imperative to maintaining the hive's efficiency."

Fu spoke: "I understood maybe about half of what you said just now and I think I understand what you're trying to say. Could you try it again so I can be sure?"

Shino nodded: "I will not be telling your secret to anyone. You have my word."

Fu smiled widely: "Thanks, friend."

The ghost of a smile formed on Shino's face as the teacher began the lesson.

-X-

Sai sat in his usual spot in class. It was a small period between classes, not quite time for lunch nor the next class.

Classes had been strange today, most had been abridged and compressed. Seemed to be aimed at finishing the school day early today.

Sai was a pretty forgettable face all things considered.

Not many people noticed him, and he really didn't try to make friends. It was fine with him.

His brother, Shin, said it was alright to be a loner but Sai should try to make friends.

Sai found it hard to catch some social cues and emotionally connect with some people. His sense of humor had managed to get some people to laugh. Though his spoken observations had triggered a similar effect. Though both his attempts at humor and voicing his observations had offended some.

Even if he wasn't trying for it.

Shin answered that some people had that problem and it could be overcome with time, but he also mentioned that for Sai it was the side effect of an old and misguided man's work.

Shin refused to go into much detail of what that meant, but Sai choose to trust him.

Sai did have acquaintances, like Yakumo-san who shared his hobby for art. Though his art was simplistic in color in favor of being highly detailed, while Yakumo's art favored low detail but with multiple colors and remaining based in reality.

Sai figured it was a result of her training with her family bloodline, which allowed a genjutsu to become reality as long as the basis or the effects generated were within physical laws or plausibility.

If she was training her art to portray a genjutsu she wished to create, then it would make sense to base her art in reality.

He trained to use his art for combat as well, but in a different way. He used ninjutsu to create constructs out of his drawings.

With the possibilities that it could create, Sai knew he would most likely be a viable candidate for a few different team set ups.

Right now his drawings constructs, the results of Ninja art: Beast Imitation, were fragile. He doubted they would ever be hardy, but he believed they could be made tougher than they were now.

The Imitations had varied potential and he intended to develop it as far as he could.

Ideas on how to improve them were hard to come up with and harder to figure out how to make plausible. Some could only work with the right experts at his disposal.

One of his ideas was a special type of ink or scroll that was infused with elemental releases that when they were used to create Imitations, the constructs were infused with that elemental release in their makeup.

Sai heard the door to the classroom and saw the Yamanaka girl, Ino, walk in with a frustrated look on her face.

Sai knew it wasn't time for the next class to start yet, but something told him she didn't come in here because it was time for class.

"You appear to be distressed. Is something wrong?" Sai asked, trying to be friendly.

The girl looked up and at him and sighed: "Yeah. Got into an argument with a friend."

Sai didn't know how to respond to that. But he did know that talking about what was wrong usually helped people to feel better.

At least that was what the book he read had told him.

"Was it over something important or was it something petty?" Sai asked.

"… both, honestly." She responded.

"How could it be both?" Sai questioned.

"There is a guy in our class that we both like and we got into an argument about who was going to date him and…" she trailed off.

"I must admit that I fail to see how that could be both." Sai responded.

"We have been having these arguments for a while now. We have usually been able to not let it hurt our friendship but it is starting to strain it. I feel like what we were arguing about is an important issue for us but if it going to destroy the friendship we have, then it is something petty that we shouldn't be fighting over." Ino said after a moment.

"I see." Sai responded after considering it.

Romance and crushes were so confusing.

"Not to be ungrateful or anything, but why were you interested in it? I don't really know you and for some reason you were able to tell that I was upset." Ino spoke after a moment.

"You usually have Haruno Sakura with you, who I am assuming was the one you had the fight with. I have noticed the seeming rift forming between you. You two don't talk as much as you used to, and the boy you are talking about must be Uchiha Sasuke. You both drool over him, as does other girls in the class with the exceptions of Hyuga Hinata and Kurama Yakumo. And I was interested in it because I noticed your duress and sought to help you, a book I read told me that in some situations the best way to make someone feel better is to get them to talk about it." Sai responded.

Ino blinked: "Huh. It did make me feel a little better, at least. You notice a lot."

Sai nodded: "I do, but some things tend to be a bit harder for me to understand, I can read the situations fairly well but to actually apply anything I can gain from it to my own is a challenge. I understand that people make friends but it is hard for me to personally make friends and as such I have no one I consider to be my friend."

Ino blinked and then questioned: "I've see you hang out with Yakumo all the time. Isn't she your friend?"

Sai shook his head: "Yakumo-san, in my opinion, is a casual acquaintance, someone I can share a hobby with but fail to share anything beyond that and everything I see shows that she feels the same. I have not had an interaction with someone I considered to be a friend. I understand that you and Sakura are friends, I remember you standing up for her when other were picking on her for her forehead. I also understand that Shikamaru-san and Choji-san are friends as well due to the connection between their fathers alongside the two's similar enough personalities. I understand that Naruto-san, Hinata-san, and Sasuke-san are friends as well, but the difference in personality between them makes me wonder how they are able to remain friends, perhaps the differing personalities between the three even each other out. I understand the concept of attraction but I have no such feeling towards anyone in the class. I understand that you and Sakura-san both have those feelings towards Sasuke-san, but I also understand that Sasuke-san respects those who give him space and those who try to prove themselves through action rather than attention grabbing. I believe that is why he tends to associate with Hinata-san, she has no apparent desire or attraction pointed at him, her attraction is pointed at Naruto-san if I am reading the signs correctly and I must admit that I may be wrong, and Hinata seems to seek to prove herself with action unlike any who are focused on Sasuke-san. What I have seen of Sasuke-san so far indicates that he has no desire for romance at the moment. Everything I see points towards grief over his clan's demise being his focus at the moment. I understand the concept of grief, but I personally have never felt it, presumably because I have never experience an event that would make me feel such an emotion. I assume that a similar reason is behind my similar failing in both the areas of attraction and friendship."

Ino stared at him for a moment: "I think I understand what you're saying. Must be hard to be like that."

Sai spoke: "It is and it is not."

Ino thought in silence for a while before she started smiling: "You said that you have no one that you consider a friend? Well let's try to change that. My name is Yamanaka Ino, what is yours?"

Sai nodded and responded: "Sai, no clan or family name, just Sai. It is a pleasure."

"Likewise, what do you like to do?" Ino asked with her smile remaining.

"I like to draw and train with my big brother." Sai responded. He tried to smile as well but Ino's reaction showed something was wrong.

"Okay, that was creepy. Your smile is way too forced. That may be part of your friend problem, you don't know how to smile naturally." Ino responded.

"My brother, Shin, tells me that something was done to me when I was very young that may have caused this and he will not say what it was." Sai responded.

"Well, that is kinda ominous." Ino responded with a slight shiver.

"Indeed it is. We were discussing hobbies, do you have any?" Sai responded.

"Yep. I like gossiping, gardening, and shopping. I also like training with my dad and one of my cousins in particular, Fu." Ino responded.

"Fu? Does he have orange hair rather than the typical Yamanaka blonde?" Sai asked.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" Ino asked with a suspicious look on her face.

"He was my brother's genin teammate alongside Aburame Torune under Uchiha Obito. I met them a few times." Sai responded.

"Huh, did not know that. Obito is that guy who takes care of Naruto, right?" Ino responded before questioning.

"I believe so. He is one of the few Uchiha to survive the attack on the village a few weeks ago if I remember correctly and he has been the one to pick up Naruto from classes multiple times." Sai responded.

Ino looked slightly down cast after the mention of the attack, before trying to continue the conversation. "That is something I didn't know. You said you like to draw, do you have anything you could or wouldn't mind showing me?"

"Indeed. Please do be careful with them." Sai nodded before reaching into his sketches and showed them to her.

"Don't worry, I will treat them with care. Huh, this looks good. Reminds me of one of my uncles' work. He was an artist as well." Ino said.

"Perhaps you could introduce me to him." Sai responded.

Ino went downcast again. "Can't now. He was one of the Yamanakas killed by that attack."

Sai spoke up after a moment: "A shame. I apologize if I may have offended you bringing up such memories."

Ino shook her head: "No, don't worry about it. I just miss him."

Sai raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before responding: "Is that what grief is like? Missing someone? It would make logical sense because unlike simply being away, the person being grieved over is gone from this world entirely and will not be coming back."

Ino looked mildly perplexed at that thought before she responded: "I guess that is a way to put it. There is a lot more to it than that, but that is definitely there."

Sai nodded: "I see. Thank you for the valuable information."

Ino merely nodded before the rest of the classmates walked in for the next class.

Sai focused as the teacher walked in and began the next class.

-X-

Sasuke grumbled internally as he counted the minutes till school was over for the day.

Maybe after class was over he could go get some meaningful training in.

Not many understood the pain of going from having almost 100 relatives down to just 6 from your immediate family in just a day.

Even fewer understood what it was like to be able to see and hear as your father was killed to save you and your family.

That image still burned in his mind due to the Sharingan awakening.

But Sasuke had a name to put that pain to: Kudo.

One day he would be made to pay for what he did. And the rest that helped him would be made to pay as well.

But until Sasuke was allowed to graduate, he was stuck here in academy classes.

It wasn't too bad all things considered. Naruto and Hinata were alright to hang out with, decent opponents near his level to test himself with.

Quite a few of the other kids in the class had that distinction as well, but Naruto and Hinata at least kept him guessing.

Decent tradeoff for being dragged to that ramen place, Ichiraku's, every time he turned around. Though he had to admit it wasn't too bad.

Naruto may be loud and not too bright, but he was loyal to his friends. Hinata was quiet and shy, but she was the same with those she trusted.

Sasuke was just glad she wasn't obsessed with him like those other girls.

Sakura and Ino as well as the others obsessive idiots being able to stay in the academy for the duration he was there was enough, thank you.

Sasuke could tell Hinata was attracted to Naruto but unlike those other girls she was not obsessively so like those girls were to Sasuke and rather than try and use hollow attention grabbing, Hinata seemed determined to prove herself.

Something Sasuke could respect.

Sasuke appreciated them as friends. Though he was still trying to figure out why his mom laughed and smiled the way she did when she saw the three of them together, the only answer she gave when Sasuke asked was _"Old memories from a lifetime ago."_

Whatever that meant, though it had to mean something.

The few times they had spared showed that Naruto could be extremely creative in a pinch to the point of unpredictable; and Hinata was a decent fighter up close in taijutsu.

Not to mention that they had endless stamina. They just kept getting back up with energy to spare.

They had their irritating sides to them for sure. Sasuke was sure they were put off by some parts of his own behavior, but was anyone perfect?

Though he wasn't sure about Hinata's view of herself being a failure. He wasn't sure what made her think that way about herself, though that one time he had seen Hinata interact with an upperclassman, a Hyuga named Neji, gave Sasuke an idea of where it came from. That conclusion was reinforced after Hinata ran off and Naruto and Sasuke found her crying in a corner.

He heard some of what had been said to her right before she ran off. Something about fate being inescapable and all happening as fate willed it.

Sasuke couldn't wrap his mind around why that guy seemed to hate Hinata and wanted to make her miserable. Everything he saw from her showed nothing that could cause or deserve such hatred. Hell, she begged him and Naruto not to do anything to Neji over her. It almost seemed as if she thought she deserved to suffer.

'_Though her begging was probably pointed more at Naruto. I heard about what he did to some kids who were picking on her for her eyes, just a shallow and un-personal reason. She probably knows it will be worse for someone who is tormenting her because he believes she deserves it, something with far more weight.'_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Though that incident with Neji was before Sasuke lost his clan and at that time those words sounded like some asshole using it as a justification to be an asshole for no real reason to someone who went out of her way to be nice to him and begged others not to punish him for it.

Now the words he heard Neji say to her were something that **BURNED!** It felt as if those words were pointed at him as well and telling him that those countless lives that were killed during that day deserved to die because fate decided it should be.

'_But it wasn't fate that took the lives of my clansmen and my father that day. It was that masked bastard, Kudo they called him, and those other two, Tobi and Moyo, and whoever ordered them to do it. They forced my mother and Itachi and others to kill the Uchiha in order to prevent them from being used as weapons to destroy the village. The blame lies with those bastards! Not fate, nor any of the Shinobi who did their job and protected Konoha and had to kill Uchiha to do it, not Mother, Shisui, Izumi, Obito, or Itachi, and certainly not Konoha! The blame lies solely with those with those bastards and I will make them pay!'_ Sasuke reminded himself.

Sasuke tried his hardest to not let his grudge against that masked bastard consume his every waking thought, but some things were far easier said than done.

Nii-san taught him that a grudge to motivate was alright but if it was allowed to grow all-consuming then it was a mistake that could be costly.

Though the black and red flames on the mask, the weird shadow that surrounded him, that jagged and almost toothed looking sickle, those deranged Sharingan eyes, that voice that sounded so composed and theatrical one moment but was childish and screaming and cursing the next, and that tattered cloak and armor all stuck out and kept invading Sasuke's vision and mind.

Sasuke shut his eyes and went through breathing exercises to keep the rage from seeping out.

He needed something to take it out on. He didn't want to hurt his friends too bad, a sparing dummy would do better. He wouldn't accidentally cause a major injury to the dummy because he let his rage get the better of him.

Might render it unusable though.

Sasuke knew it was starting to become obsessive but it was ingrained to the purpose he had chosen to take for his life.

To avenge the Uchiha who had been killed and after that to safeguard the next generation against threats. That was Uchiha Sasuke's life mission.

And he _**would**_ see it completed

Before he opened his eyes, a familiar voice shook him out of his thoughts: "Hey Sasuke, come on. Wake up. Class is over, we're free to go."

Sasuke opened his eyes to find their classmates filling out of the room with Naruto and Hinata standing up waiting for him.

Naruto spoke again: "C'mon Sasuke, it's not like you to do an impression of Shikamaru during class."

"I wasn't asleep like Shikamaru. I just had my eyes shut for a minute." Sasuke responded.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep saying that and maybe you'll believe it. The only thing your impression needs is that you need to call me or Sakura and Ino troublesome. C'mon, me and Hinata are going to Ichiraku's for lunch, you wanna go with us?" Naruto responded.

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Sure, got nothing better to do then eat lunch, though I'm going to pass on training with you guys today."

Naruto smirked and responded: "Why's that, Sasuke? Got tired of me shoving you in the ground?"

Sasuke smirked back: "More like got tired of feeding you dirt."

Hinata looked worried: "It-it's not because of something Naruto-kun or I did, r-right?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No, just got other things to do later." Like not beat his friends bloody over something stupid like losing control of his temper in the heat of the moment.

Naruto shrugged but neither him nor Hinata seemed convinced by what Sasuke said, probably deciding against pressing him.

As the three walked through the streets, Sasuke felt his mind wander back to the now crippled Military Police.

It was still so odd to wander down a street and not see a member lurking around nearby.

He heard a conversation between mother and Nii-san that something to do with the Military Police was passed but until they could implement it and rebuild the force, the ANBU would be filling the role.

Sasuke didn't understand what they were talking about and honestly didn't care.

'_Though the police might be something to consider once that bastard has been taken care of.' _Sasuke thought to himself.

"Hey kids! Mind if we join you." A voice called.

Naruto turned and called out: "Nii-san! Nee-chan!"

Sasuke turned around and saw Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin walking towards them.

"Are you kidding? Why wouldn't I want you there?" Naruto said with the same unending enthusiasm that defined him.

Obito held his hands up: "Woah there kid! Let's see what these two think first."

Sasuke shrugged while Hinata nodded.

Rin smiled: "Good. We wouldn't want to impose."

And the group left towards their destination.

-X-

_**Earlier elsewhere in Konoha**_

Anko loved her days off, but who didn't honestly.

Especially this one, first day off she had since that invasion 2 weeks ago.

The routine she had for days off was get up, go get breakfast, relax in the forest, do some training, and then take care of errands if she had any before heading home.

She had just finished breakfast and was walking down a street towards the training grounds when a small dog nudged her leg.

Anko looked down to see a dog probably smaller than Kakashi's hound, Pakun, standing on its rear legs with its front paws on her leg, with paws digging in but not with ill intent but playfulness and trying to get her attention.

Anko usually wasn't much of a dog person, mostly because of just how bad the scent of snakes lingered with her and caused them to snap hard at her, but this one seemed to not care.

This one had a mix of brown, black and a slight bit of blonde for its colors and had hair instead of fur. Didn't have much of a tail either for some reason.

Just looking at it, Anko figured that it was a girl and had a personality that could be annoying to some but endearing to others.

'_Heh, kinda like Gai.'_ Anko thought amused.

The dog barked at her, but not threateningly.

"Now just what do you want? What does a little girl like you want from me?" Anko asked jokingly.

The dog continued barking.

"Did you get lost and can't find your way home and need help? Is that it?" Anko asked with a slight bit of concern.

The dog continued barking in response.

"Let see what is on your tags. Thank goodness you have a collar." Anko said as she reached to grab the dog who darted away, thinking Anko was trying to play.

"Sorry girl, but I have places to be and things to do. You're lucky I decided to stop and help you after you got my attention." Anko said as she reached again, this time grabbing the dog and lifting her up to where she could read the tag.

The address was on a street that was on her way. Anko knew that much.

Apparently the little girl's name was Mikomi.

"Cute name you have, now let's get you home, Mikomi. Your owners are probably feeling a little _hope_lesswithout you." Anko said as she began walking and laughing slightly at the pun she made.

Anyone else who made that pun would have been awarded a groan and a slug to shoulder by Anko.

As she approached the address, a family of three was outside, obviously in panic. Probably trying to figure out where the girl went.

Just before Anko became visible to the family, a tanned man with black hair tied back walked by, with an expression that went from neutral to horrified in a second before he stopped and waited.

Then the mother noticed Anko and the little girl: "MIKOMI!"

The dog began squirming and scratching to get over to the woman calling her name and Anko sat the girl down on the ground to run to them.

The little dog flew towards her owners.

Anko was well aware of the train wreck effect, looking at something bad about to happen with no chance of stopping it in time and no chance of mitigating.

It was like watching something in slow motion except you just wish you could speed up and stop it before the end occurs.

Anko saw the little dog trip over something and began falling over in a way that Anko knew wasn't going to end well, at all.

But before Anko could make a move, something strange happened and the world around her almost seemed like it slowed and then sped back up.

An effect that was completely surreal.

She knew that before there only a little girl falling after a trip that was going to kill her in front of her. Now there was the man from the street clutching the dog who was alright somehow in his arms.

She was close enough to hear him mumble something but not anything understandable.

She could definitely hear the sounds of bones popping around after being used so intensively so suddenly.

"MIKOMI!" The woman shouted as she ran to the man who was holding her.

"Here you go. One little girl, none the worse for wear." The man joked in a voice that sounded slightly out of breath, with his accenting seeming a bit odd in comparison to most people Anko spoke with.

"Thank you, Sir." One of the two men, the older and father of the family, spoke.

"No problems. Just happy to help." The man responded with a tired smile on his face.

The younger man from the family, obviously the couple's son, turned to Anko and spoke as well: "And thank you, Shinobi-san, for bringing Mikomi-chan back to us."

Anko nodded and smiled: "Don't worry about it. I just happened to find her and you guys were on my way out to the training grounds where I was headed anyways."

The family went back in their house with the dog, while Anko and the stranger went back to the actual street.

Anko spoke: "OKAY! What the hell was that you did?!"

The man blinked: "Wait, you saw that?!"

"How could I not?! I want to know what was that crazy slowdown speed up shit you did was?! And how did you know it was going to happen?" Anko said trying not to bring attention to herself but trying to express urgency.

The man sighed and responded: "Something I learned by fighting a lot of guys who could do similar things. It isn't just something anyone can learn, you have to have the potential to do so already, well there is a way around that part but I don't have it. I stopped at the street because my gift showed me that was about to happen. I can see many of the forms and paths the future may take."

Anko raised an eyebrow: "That both does and doesn't answer much."

The man nodded: "I know. But I cannot answer more than that."

The man began walking off.

Anko spoke up: "Whatever it was, I think you did a good job."

The man nodded: "I think so too. The name's Koryo Hideki."

Anko responded: "My name's Mitarashi Anko and don't you dare forget it!"

"I know, I can see the Future! And trust me when I say that I wouldn't dare forget such a name!" Hideki answered with a dramatic tone in his declaration and a whimsical smile on his face as he began walking into Konoha proper.

Anko smiled and laughed at the dramatic way he said that comment before shrugging and heading to her destination:

Training ground 44.

Anko sighed as she sat down and relaxed in the atmosphere of the forest of death.

Before she could get really comfortable, she heard slithering and recognized it as the movement of a summon snake.

"If that purple bastard Manda sent you, then you best save us both a lot of time and energy and just go ahead and FUCK OFF!" Anko stated.

A voice she had never heard before responded: "My, what hatred. Though considering that boy's actions and disposition, I cannot fault you for saying that."

Anko turned to see an old snake with a green colored scaled hide, like a grass snake. "Alright, haven't heard one of those fucks be that nice to me or say something like that about that purple bastard before so you have to be alright. Who are you and who sent you?"

The snake mimicked a bowing motion: "I am called Kusahebi, I come on behalf of the honored Orochi-sama and Kurohebi-sama of the cave. If you are Mitarashi Anko then I have business with you."

Anko nodded: "You're talking to her. I know those names vaguely but I can't recall exactly who they are. Mind refreshing me?"

The snake pondered: "Kurohebi-sama was the leader of the clan before Manda, while I do not believe it wise to answer the question about the other."

Anko quirked an eyebrow: "You look like you're scared of something."

The snake nodded: "I am in a way. There are those who hold deep grudges against the cave and anyone who knew I was sent by Orochi-sama alongside who she is might decide to take a pound of flesh from the cave by interfering with my mission in anyway."

Anko shrugged: "Sounds paranoid but considering how bad the tensions between summoning clans are at the moment, I can't blame you."

The snake nodded: "I appreciate the understanding but I came here to question you about some things."

Anko shrugged: "Shoot."

The snake began: "Do you know how Manda and Orochimaru's actions ruined the Ryuichi Cave Clan's standing in the eyes of the Elemental nations?"

Anko was surprised but kept steady: "I thought no one but that group of snakes I made the deal with really gave a shit about what all those two bastards were doing."

The snake glared slightly before dropping it and sighing: "I protest that wording but I cannot help but agree with the intended meaning. For your information, quite a few of us care about what they are doing, but we had little reason to suspect anything needed to be addressed, only small signs."

Anko felt her anger get the best of her and with it, the seal on her neck tried to use it to activate: "If what they are doing is worth looking at, then WHY ARE YOU LOOKING INTO IT NOW RATHER THAN YEARS AGO WHEN THIS SHIT STARTED?!"

The snake went wide eyed for a moment before Anko shouted that question, after which his eyes went ground ward: "Years ago our honor was intact and we could band together with our allies if we needed to and trust our own clansmen. Now we are met with hostility and open steel for the actions and brutality of a few foolish boys following a hatchling who never should have been put in charge."

Anko softened a bit and her seal went dormant before it could activate and spread.

The snake continued: "If our clan sage's premonitions are to be believed, a great evil from the past shall return before the next ten years are over and it will attempt to wipe away the world as we know it. If these feuds cannot be settled before it arrives, we are finished. If we cannot calm the hostility so cooler heads can speak and reach agreements to form compromises so these wounds can heal so we may stand together, then we may as well lay down and wait for this evil to return and let the darkness it brings consume us. I cannot allow this to happen because we are judged for the fault of the few, and if blood is what they demand even after we reach an agreement, then I will gladly offer mine alongside Manda's to set things right."

Anko just looked for a moment before she started squirming over the fact that she let her rage get the best of her.

Once she had calmed, Anko asked: "What do you need?"

The old snake responded: "Anything you have to say about what those two have done to draw this much rage toward the cave."

Anko nodded and began explaining Orochimaru's experiments that she was aware of and how he used the snakes as enforcers.

The snake sighed: "That is quite a lot and would draw such ire. I wish I had a demonstration of what he did."

Anko sighed: "I can give you one, he subjected me to his experiments with the cursed seal."

The snake raised an eyelid before Anko pulled down her collar to expose her former master's final "gift" to her.

The moment the snake saw it his eyes went critical of the seal before him: "Is that what I sensed earlier when you were getting angry?"

Anko nodded before she began going against her conditioning and willingly activated the seal, feeling the marks expand and cover her upper torso on the side with the mark alongside that side's part of her neck and face.

The old snake was silent for a moment before speaking: "This is a perversion of a sacred art. I need you to come to the cave and show it to those who sent me."

Anko felt a tinge of confusion but nodded while deactivating the seal.

Kusahebi slithered to her and wrapped around her before slamming his tail to the ground: "Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke they were gone from the forest and at the entrance to Ryuichi Cave.

The snake unwrapped from her before speaking: "Follow me. If we stick to the right path, we should not be detected by Manda or his most loyal. Once we have made it to Orochi-sama's chamber we will be safe."

Anko nodded and began following the snake down long twisting passages till they reached a room with three beautiful girls who seemed out of place within a cave of snakes standing guard.

"Halt." All three cried as one.

"Kusahebi, welcome home." One greeted the old snake.

"State your business and reason for bringing this girl here." another said.

"We know she is one of our clan's summoners." the third girl stated.

"But she has not passed the trial we preside over. By our rules she is not allowed to meet with the sage until she has done so."

"I am here to see Orochi-sama, and this one here holds something that she needs to see concerning the business with Orochimaru and Manda. We do not have time to go through such pageantry at the moment. This is serious. Sense her chakra closely and you will see." The old grass colored snake replied.

The three girls nodded and did as asked.

A moment later a collective gasp issued.

One of the three spoke: "Is that what I think it is?"

The old snake nodded: "It is. And this is Orochimaru's work."

The girls made no movement but one spoke. "He did this? Orochimaru created this thing…this abomination?!"

Kusahebi nodded: "He did. How, I do not know but its existence alone is cause for concern."

The girls nodded: "Indeed. An exception shall be made for now. Follow us."

The girls allowed them to pass the room and follow them deeper into this sanctum.

Inside the next room was a large stone area with the white coils of a snake's body wrapped around the room along with predominantly black coils with purple accents of another, larger snake.

Anko began realizing who Orochi was.

The three girls brought them to where some coils obscured something from sight: "May we present, the founder as well as the ancestor and progenitor of our clan and the holder of the title The White Snake Sage: Orochi-sama."

The coils shifted to reveal the head of the snake sitting with coils under her head on a throne with a cigarette holder in her mouth.

Though a more animated member of the trio spoke up: "Though I just refer to her Orochi-baa-sama."

The giant white snake spoke: "**I wish you wouldn't make it a point to introduce me as that. I know you are among my grandchildren but I believe I am owed more respect than that." **

The same member of the three giggled and responded: "I do it because you deserve that kind of respect, grandmother."

The snake smiled. **"I believe it, you never mince your words. I should also introduce my grandson."**

The larger coils shifted and a horned snake head appeared. Anko realized how much he resembled Manda before realizing just how much larger he was than Manda and how much speed and grace he moved with compared to Manda who was by no means slow and clumsy. It was almost like watching a massive whale move around like a barracuda, not quite as fast but far faster than anything that large had any right to be moving.

The large black snake spoke: **"I mean you no harm, child. I am Kurohebi, the former head of this clan. Manda is my youngest and only surviving child."**

Anko winced: "My condolences."

The snake cracked what Anko had learned over the years was a snake's attempt at a smile. **"As much as I wish it weren't so, I'm afraid you are right. Now onto business, what has that boy done to cause so much anger at the cave?"**

Kurohebi began explaining what all he learned, each of the others listening.

Eventually he reached the end: "He has drawn us back into conflict with both the Toads and the Monkeys by fighting alongside Orochimaru when he betrayed his village and fought against both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Enma, and Jiraiya and Gamabunta. We have been used as butchers to further his goals and allow a monster to run rampant."

Kusahebi sighed before continuing: "But he has done something even worse, Anko-san, show them."

Anko nodded before removing her coat and exposing the back of her neck.

She could hear the eyes widen.

"**What is this?" **The Sage snake questioned dreading the answer.

Anko responded: "It is Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. Provides a power boost when activated but it provides power that is Orochimaru and it twists your mind to his will."

Kusahebi nodded: "Indeed. But I need you to activate it."

Anko nodded and grunted as she began forcing chakra to it again. The marks spread over a small area but it was enough.

"**WHAT THE HELL?! THAT'S NATURE CHAKRA!" **Kurohebi cried as he noticed the chakra emitted.

The Sage Snake was more subdued in her initial reaction. **"This is a perversion of the Sage Arts, ours to be exact. It should not exist. But I'm afraid it is worse than you know, Anko-chan."**

Anko shut down the seal and turned to the sage confused. "What do you mean?"

Orochi took a drag of her cigarette before continuing: **"It contains something I do not recognize, an organic component from someone that is gathering Nature Energy passively it appears. Interesting I must say, but that energy when it is not activated is being used to preserve a piece of what I know is Orochimaru's essence that he managed to split off from himself and deposit in the seal itself for safe keeping. If it did not contain that, with a few modifications to the work I could see and perhaps more to what I can't, it would be fine, useful in a way that wouldn't be a crime against the natural order, but that piece of Orochimaru is worrying to say the least."**

Anko's eyes shot open. "What the hell does that mean?! Because I have got a real bad feeling about that!"

The snake sage nodded: **"Indeed you should, it contains part of Orochimaru's essence, his soul if you will, it is how he bends those who bear this to his will, that piece corrupts the energy that is pushed out from the mark and into your body, which makes you malleable to his will. And even worse, as long as this abomination exists, if he were to die he could be resurrected using it."**

Anko went absolutely livid: "FUCK NO! THAT BASTARD DESRVES TO DIE AND THEN SOME! I WILL NOT BE HIS TICKET BACK TO LIFE WHEN HE DIES AND GOES TO HELL!"

The sage nodded: **"Once something dies, it shouldn't be allowed back. Not like this anyways."**

One of the princesses began shivering and spoke: "Kurohebi-sama. You have been awfully silent since this was revealed."

Anko looked and saw the massive snake shivering with rage. She could feel the rage and killing intent flooding the room.

Kurohebi eventually spoke: **"Call a muster of the clan. I'm retaking my place from that boy."**

Less than a full hour later, exactly that was happening.

Manda slithered in with rage in his eyes: **"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"**

The Princesses spoke: "Greetings Manda. You have been called to answer a question the elders have in front of the clan."

Manda seemed to get angrier at that: **"I DON'T CARE?! I ASKED A QUESTION AND I EXPECT A GODDAMN ANSWER!"**

The Princesses dropped their Genjutsu, revealing their true forms as snakes, and stared him down and spoke as one: **"Lower your voice and be respectful to your elders, Manda. They will be asking you the questions."**

Manda seemed to calm down but the rage never left his eyes: **"Fine. What have I been called here to answer for?"**

The Sage Snake spoke: **"Manda, were you aware of the full nature of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal?"**

Manda's rage skyrocketed: **"WHAT?! THE HELL DOES OROCHIMARU'S SHIT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING-"**

Kurohebi glared at him: **"Answer the question, boy." **

Manda went calm and nervous: **"I still don't see what it has to do with anything."**

Kurohebi snarled: **"BECAUSE IT IS A BASTARDIZATION OF OUR CLAN'S SAGE ARTS! WERE YOU AWARE OF IT?!"**

Manda glared back defiantly: **"Yes. I gave him that knowledge in exchange for a large settlement in the Land of Swamps as a sacrifice."**

Kurohebi glared: **"Then our ruling and your punishment has been decided. If you answered no your competency was going to be called into question and you would be challenged for your seat. Now you are declared incompetent outright and will be removed as clan head."**

Manda eyes filled with rage, the kind that Anko recognized as being mad that someone dared to call you into question, before he began hissing and lunged forward.

Before Manda could even come close, Kurohebi's tail lashed out and slapped him aside.

Kurohebi wrapped around Manda's body tightly and prevented him from escaping.

Kurohebi put his face directly in Manda's and the size difference was made that much more apparent.

Manda spat out: **"You wouldn't kill your son, would you Old Man?"**

Kurohebi responded: **"I don't have a son named Manda. My youngest was named Ghido who died trying to save a fool named Manda, who should have died instead. And I am not planning on killing you, boy. I have something worse in mind."**

Kurohebi opened his mouth wide and plunged his fang into Manda's forehead.

Manda's screams were deafening as Kurohebi carved something into the dethroned boss snake's forehead.

By the time he was done, he left a scar in Manda's forehead in the shape of the kanji for "Outcast."

"**Manda, for your siblings' sake, I am not going to kill you. You are banished from the cave. I will kill you if you return, like I should right now. Any who wish to go as well shall be allowed but I will hunt them and carve the brand onto them as well in time and they shall be bound by the same punishment."** Kurohebi declared.

Manda was released and he slithered away with pain evident in his movements.

"**You'll p-pay for th-this o-old man." **was what Manda said weakly as he slithered away

Kurohebi spoke **"We are no longer abiding by Manda's foolishness. We will return to the old ways. Where tribute is no more than we ourselves are willing to give rather than something as barbaric and pointlessly cruel as human sacrifice."**

The black snake turned to Anko: **"We owe you a debt for both what has been done to you because of our inaction and for your help in allowing us to begin rectifying our mistakes."**

Anko bowed: "It was my pleasure Kurohebi-sama."

The snake nodded: **"Bring me the contract. We are fixing our other mistake as well."**

The contract was brought forward and was opened up.

The Sage Snake spoke: **"For his crimes against our clan and against nature itself with his perversion of the Sage Arts we have developed, it is the judgement of myself and Kurohebi that the contract with Orochimaru is to be terminated. We will no longer answer his summons, and his name will be struck from our contract. If he comes to the cave we are to treat him like Manda, an outcast."**

The Sage Snake opened her mouth and secreted something from her fangs before dragging it across Orochimaru's spot, not tearing the paper of the scroll but covering Orochimaru's spot in the substance that was distinctly not poison and blotted out the spot, removing him from the contract.

Kurohebi dismissed everyone and Anko was about to ask to leave when the White Sage Snake spoke**: "Young one. I can see the path ahead of you. I see three flames that you have the opportunity to tend to, the chance to lend your aid towards strengthening them from small embers into great infernos, and they shall challenge the darkness and the monster it heralds that shall be returning to the world."**

"O…kay. That sounds all good and ominous and sounds like something to think about. Can someone give me a ride home via reverse summoning?" Anko asked.

"**I will give it but I have one more thing to ask of you, if you allow it of course."** Kurohebi spoke.

Anko nodded: "Anything you need Boss! You help me give that bastard Orochimaru a rightfully owed black eye, anything you need is fine."

The Black Snake spoke: **"I need you to deliver a message to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Jiraiya asking their summons meet with us to begin trying to fix Manda's blunders. Can I rely on you?"**

Anko nodded: "You can count on me Boss!"

The Snake Clan Head smiled: **"I believe it. Until the next time we meet: Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"**

In a puff of smoke, Anko was back at the forest of death.

Alone, and with the full implications of what she had done sinking in, Anko smiled and laugh.

"Hey Orochimaru! Take that, you son of a bitch!"

-X-

_**Konoha**_

_**Earlier **_

_**Hokage's office**_

'_Grief, Kakashi gets sent out of the village as a shadow for Kagome's proving mission while I'm stuck here for whatever.' _Obito thought half sarcastically.

Kagome had been sent on a bandit elimination mission as a form of proving three days ago, with Kakashi shadowing her to evaluate and provide assistance should the mission exceed the expected parameters.

Though the irony of the situation was that the day after they left, some refugees from Taki arrived.

The jonin in charge of the group had asked if the Scroll of the Forbidden Falls had been safely delivered. Obito and Hiruzen pulled him aside a day later and informed the man of the S-class secret surrounding the scroll due to the knowledge contained within.

The jonin nodded in understanding to the decision, especially considering the Earth Grudge Fear.

'_Eh, I may not be out having fun but I still get to be around for Rin-chan and Naruto. Wonder if those two are having fun messing with bandits or if they found something beyond the mission's parameters.'_ Obito thought to himself as he walked to the Hokage's office.

-X-

_**Bandit encampment in the Land of Fire**_

_**3 days later**_

Kakashi edged cautiously alongside Kagome as they snuck around to get a picture of how strong these bandits were and how many of them were there.

If the duo's primary discovery hadn't been there, that this group of bandits was being led by a Missing Nin who faked his death years ago and was currently training these bandits into an independent ninja force, then they probably would have gone with simple tactics rather than the stealth and recon they were going with.

'_Why can't anything just be simple with my missions?' _Kakashi thought with a sigh.

"Kakashi-san, do we have a plan of attack?" Kagome asked after they finished looking around

Kakashi thought for a moment: "We should use the element of surprise we have at the moment to kill the leader, as far as I can tell he is a rogue ANBU from a Village. Kill the leader and then use the chaos to kill the others."

Kagome thought for a moment: "That sounds probable to succeed, but what if something happens to derail the plan?"

Kakashi adjusted his footing on the cliff of the hill they were discussing this on, not realizing the small rock he knocked off the side before he spoke: "Most of these bandits seem to be just above academy students and others seem to be just about the level of the standard genin, that rogue ANBU is what really wor-"

"OW, what the hell hit me in the head?! Is something on that cliff…OH SHIT! WE GOT KONOHAS!" a bandit at the foot of the drop the two ninjas stood atop shouted.

Kakashi sighed: "I walked straight into that one. Well, this is going to be annoying."

Kakashi created a chidori and charged towards the bandit and impaled him as he attempted to run back to the camp.

Then a group of bandits started charging him, but a voice shouted a jutsu that he wished he had more time to react to.

"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"

A steam cloud came at both Kakashi and the bandits, the bandits were consumed by the searing mist while Kakashi just barely got out of the way.

Still got burned though.

"OW! WATCH WHERE YOU AIM THAT!" a voice screamed.

"Sorry. I went with my instinct to try and eliminate the target. He escaped the radius." A voice responded.

Kakashi sighed: "Be careful with that Kagome. I just learned where you got the nickname 'Of the Searing Waterfall Mist' from."

Kagome nodded: "Yes. That is where I got it, we can discuss it later but for now we have a mission. I sincerely apologize for searing you."

Kakashi agreed: "Yeah. Sorry I snapped. Old memories from the Third Great Ninja War from battles against Kiri came up."

Kagome nodded as Kakashi drew a kunai and the two prepared to take on the rest of the bandits.

'_Obito would probably have fun messing with these guys before finding a way to scare them out of being bandits or just killing them.' _Kakashi thought with a chuckle before the fighting truly began.

-X-

Obito shrugged: _'Eh, he'd probably kill the guys before he called it a day, and Kagome would probably just pump out a shit ton of Boiling Mist and then use that to kill all of them once she confirmed there weren't any captives.'_

Obito came up to the secretary's desk.

The woman, Himiko, looked up and spoke: "Good afternoon, Obito-san. Here to see Hokage-sama?"

Obito shrugged: "More like I was told don't make any plans for today and come in for something. A bit weird if you ask me but the running of this village tends to go that way sometimes, right Himiko-san?"

The woman nodded: "Believe me I understand that. Only been in this job for 3 years and I already know things can get strange and out of the ordinary. Hiruzen-sama is waiting for you, and I know Tsunade-sama has come in and hasn't left his office."

Obito smiled: "Thanks for the warning. I'll be on extra good behavior." Obito said as he walked into the office to find Hiruzen at his desk, Tsunade at the chair on the other side of the desk and Jiraiya sitting in the window.

Obito smirked: "Geez, full house, huh? What's the occasion?"

Jiraiya spoke: "Friend of mine in the intelligence gathering business is going to be dropping by. Ought to be here today and he is a bit of stickler about appointments. Could be a little early or late but usually on time."

"So, is this guy is due to arrive sometime soon?" Obito asked to the three other people in the room.

Jiraiya nodded: "His letter to Hiruzen-sensei stated he would be here in 2 weeks and Hisashi tends to be highly punctual unless something happens. Today is two weeks since the letter arrived so today is most likely the day."

The old Hokage nodded. "Whatever code was in that letter we couldn't decipher obviously was something he knew. I would guess that the code might belong to whoever he works for. The writing to his letter almost appeared alarmed."

Obito shrugged: "Maybe. If it did belong to his bosses or whatever, then he is probably worried that they have a traitor or something in their ranks."

The fourth member of the room, Tsunade merely rubbed her head: "I still don't know why I'm here."

The Hokage and Jiraiya spoke: "Witness."

"That's probably a good idea." was her response.

Then a voice Obito didn't recognize sounded: "Yeah it really might be."

At that moment, two men walked in to the office.

One of them, who had very dark purple hair and purple eyes, smiled and spoke: "Hey Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and kid I have never met before but is wearing the Uchiha crest so I assume is an Uchiha and I already know is Obito."

Well that was odd.

"Y-yeah, I'm Obito."

"Huh, you took better to Hisashi's initial antics then most people do." The other man, with black hair and black eyes, said.

"Huh, so I'm guessing he's Hisashi, so who are you?" Obito said, trying to be polite, and directing that statement at the man with black hair.

The other Konoha members in the room agreed.

"Oh shit, where are my manners? Koryo Hideki, at your service. No, that is not my real name. It is an alias in your language that I picked up for convenience sake due to my real name's phonetics not translating well at all." The man with black hair tied back into a short pony tail responded.

"Jiraiya, I told you about him a few years ago but I never actually thought you would meet him. We have been working together for 30 Years. I can't quite remember how we met though." Hisashi said with genuine struggle to remember.

"You were in your hopeless to try and get an actual love life phase and you hit on my date at a party. Your antics caused her to ditch and we went from there." The man said with absolute deadpan.

"Oh yeah, that was it. Sorry about that again."

"No problem, she got arrested a week later trying to break into a secure installation with the intent and the means to use the equipment to cause a localized Intelligent life extinction event. If anything, I should be thanking you for helping me dodge a bullet there." Hideki said as if reading a report.

How could someone be that casual about something like that?

"Back to the matter at hand, Hisashi. What do you have to report?" Hiruzen spoke trying to keep the two men on task.

"Yeah sorry, I found every installation I could and searched it. I got in storage all that I found but I will need time to organize it into a coherent report. Bottom line, they were almost ready to roll out the prototype for large scale and long term testing. They were basically done and we cut 'em off just in time." Hisashi said with an almost gleaming edge to his words.

"I see. Anything else we should know?" Hiruzen asked.

Hisashi nodded: "Yeah, a few things. How about the lighter news first, eh? The rebellion over in Kiri is preparing to invade Kirigakure, as in they will be moving in within the next two days. Odds are looking good for them. The entirety of the Terumi and Karatachi Clans, the remnants of the Yuki and Hozuki clans, a small group of Kaguyas, among some other clans and factions from clans, All-Seeing Ao and some of his subordinates from Kiri's Hunter Nin, and four members of the Seven Swordsmen: Momochi Zabuza, Akebino Jinin, Kuriaire Kushimaru, and Hozuki Mangetsu who joined up with them a few days ago. All of that rallied behind the leadership of Terumi Mei and what my sources tell me is that she is the front runner for Fourth Mizukage should the rebellion succeed. The opposing side has a force about equal in numbers, but they lack the raw power to match and their spirit is gone: Hoshigake Kisame disappeared almost a month ago, Kurosaki Raiga fled the Land of Water a week and a half after that with the loss of Kiri's last major fortification outside of the Village itself, and Munashi Jinpachi literally told Kiri to go fuck itself and ran three days ago. I have been offering my services to the Rebellion and they took it and accepted my terms. I have mostly been funneling them information and informing them of enemy movements."

Hiruzen nodded: "This information is good to have, and I'm not surprised by you assisting them but I wonder what your terms were."

Hisashi shrugged: "They would back off on some of the open hostilities, I may have mentioned something about some of my information was coming from you guys, which is true by the way, to try and convince them to try and build an alliance with Konoha, and lastly they are forbidden from pulling Kumo's kidnapping shit; with the risk of me breaking them should they break that last part of their side of our deal."

Tsunade spoke: "Break them? I would have expected something else as the consequence."

Hideki started laughing: "Me an' Hisashi here both know that some situations could take lesser consequences to keep people in line, but with an entity like Kiri or another hidden village, you need to break their pride entirely. Leave them so bloody and bruised that it hurts to move and make damn sure they know the only reason they are allowed to live is because they have a purpose that benefits others and it suits you to spare them and make damn sure they know if they decide to try that shit again you WILL put them in the ground."

Hisashi nodded animatedly: "Oh yes, wouldn't be the first time I have done something like that to show that I am not to be crossed."

Most occupants of the room began to realize the threat Hisashi represented.

Hisashi continued: "Now on to the bad news. My search led to me finding evidence of an Orochimaru installation in one of the countries I visited looking for these operations and decided to look into it. What I found was not good: Orochimaru has done it, he found a way to transfer his soul between bodies and acquire the bloodline held by the bodies for the duration of his habitation within the vessels." Hisashi said.

"W-WHAT?" Obito screamed with his heart clutched and refusing to beat, and the other occupants had paled complexions.

"You heard me. He can only stay in a body for a max of five years before decay due to the invasiveness and damaging nature of taking a body against their owner's will renders it unusable. He also can't keep bloodlines from body to body." Hisashi carried on.

"But how long until he or someone else does figure out how to do that?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh there is a way. We have encountered someone with similar capabilities before." Hideki mentioned and the room paled further at that implication.

"Yeah, but it would require that Orochimaru merge his soul with his host body's own. That is risky beyond belief if he has to fight to overtake them to keep their body's power. At best he might win and be able to carry acquired traits from one body to all future bodies with those traits permanently merged to his soul, but the middle ground and most likely scenario would be that he would survive but would be weakened for any future confrontation of that nature. The worst case scenario for the pasty bastard would be that he ends up collapsing both his own soul's stability and his next vessel's soul's stability and the resulting backlash shattering them and then gluing them together wrong and whatever would walk away would not be Orochimaru or whatever person he tried taking over but a weird eldritch fusion of the two, both of them and neither of them at the same time." Hisashi explained.

"So what you're saying is that it is possible but risky beyond belief with too many unknowns or side effects to ever make it practical to try and force the fusion even once unless he is willing to risk it." Tsunade summarized.

"Yes." That was all the response she got from the enigmatic spymaster.

Obito laughed at the simple answer to the question about a complex issue

"Now moving on to the main event, the letter." Hisashi stated dramatically as he pulled the scroll out of his long black jacket.

"So you did recognize the code it was written in like Hiruzen-sama expected?" Obito asked.

"Yep, helped write it. It's an encryption code used by our old division." Hisashi explained gesturing towards himself and Hideki.

Hisashi continued. "The whole reason I was so surprised was that I thought a traitor from that division was operating here or something else bad was going on. Our original division was destroyed 25 years ago, 400 men, assassins in service to our superiors, down to just 32 with the highest on the chain of command being myself at NINETEENTH IN COMMAND!"

"Holy shit." Obito cursed at the implication.

"Yeah, we said something like that when we regroup after killing the bastards that did it. We pulled together and formed a cell to keep doing the work our division did for the organization we serve until a new assassin division was set up. Some have retired, some have died on the job, and others have turned traitor and we have had to deal with them. Anyone else is now part of the command for the new Division 47, or bounces around or primarily sticks to and does assignments from the Observer Corps, which is what Hideki and I are nowadays. Anyways, the code is a written cipher, used to pass valuable intel off to allies incase radio communications were forbidden due to possible eavesdropping by our targets or enemies." Hisashi explained.

"Funny thing, I taught it to a kid I saved a while back and I don't think he ever thought he would be in a position to use it." Hideki laughed while scratching his head.

"And luckily I ran into this asshole first before I got in here, or else I might have just given you guys a new definition of _'Righteous Fury'_ to add to the dictionary, alongside a video and audio recorded example." Hisashi noted.

"What does the note say?" the old Hokage asked.

Hisashi breathed in and spoke: "Well that kid grew up and was the field leader of the attack that just occurred."

"Are you kidding me?! The guy who killed the majority of my clan was saved by him?!" Obito asked with Sharingan activating and hand gesturing toward Hideki.

"Settle down kid, I wasn't finished. He identifies the major objectives of the attack, the jinchuriki, wiping out the Uchiha, killing the Hokage and most of the chain of command and any powerful ninjas, kidnapping Danzo for an asset in or on him to be used to coerce some asshole into joining Akatsuki, grabbing two Uchiha to be used to satisfy Orochimaru for the time being, and grabbing ahold of something from the Hyuga. Note doesn't say what." Hisashi finished.

Hiruzen looked downwards: "So that's what happened to Danzo. We were going to be putting him in the bingo book in a few days."

Hisashi nodded "Danzo's a menace. That would have been a smart move. The note's writer, a guy named Moyo, admits that he stacked the deck in your favor, purposefully sending what resources he could control to the wrong task to guarantee the least gain for his master. All while using the situation to advance himself up."

"We lost this much in a game we were supposed to win?" Hiruzen asked almost discouraged.

"Not exactly. He said that he was expecting at most, you guys being able to stop half of it. You beat his expectations. But it comes with other stuff as well." Hisashi continued. "He states that those two Uchiha were killed in transport so Orochimaru isn't getting his slimy hands on them, thank god for small mercies, and he gave us a full list of Akatsuki members. People we didn't even know were part of it. The only one we don't have too clear of a picture on is Nanashi and he is slightly worrying."

"Why is that?" Tsunade asked.

"Because he is most likely from here. He has the Byakugan." Hisashi explained.

"A Hyuga? That is worrying." Jiraiya responded.

Obito spoke up: "And at the moment, we don't have any Hyuga Missing Nin."

The feeling of dread grew.

"Maybe, Maybe not. But it is a concern. I do happen to know that there used to be a clan separate from the Hyuga that had the Byakugan as well. The two broke off from each other after a dispute. No clue if this guy is a survivor of that clan or is a Hyuga who has his ambitions aimed a bit too high and is using Akatsuki to reach them. Though the information states he joined up with Akatsuki about five or so months after the Kyubi attack, so more than likely he is not part of the village because he would be able to grab the kids and Rin himself if he was. I suggest holding onto that information for now until Akatsuki starts showing their true colors to the world." Hisashi advised.

"I agree. With a group like this edging us ever closer towards another war with their aggressive plan towards peace alongside with the aim on the Biju to bring it about. How long would you say before they start a war by doing that?" Hiruzen asked.

Hisashi shrugged. "Don't know. My guess is that it depends on how bad they fuck up when they go actively on the hunt for the Jinchuriki among other things and then how desperate they get. I was informed that additional information would be passed along as it was possible."

Obito asked for the kids and Rin's sake "How long till they go on the hunt or did it not say?"

Hisashi smiled: "Good question kid. It mentioned that no major missions involving Jinchuriki would be issued following the Daybreak attack, as it was dubbed, for about 5 or 6 years. That may be different now thanks to the failure to capture either Taki or Konoha's Jinchuriki, but we know we have at least that long. The main purpose of this period is to use Akatsuki to draw potential funding in the form of high paying missions away from major villages using cheaper rates along with taking out high ranked Bingo Book bounties and thus put a further drain on those villages' resources by claiming the bounties. Keep that going for a few years, send members to gauge the strengths of each Jinchuriki to begin assembling a capture plan, and then start capturing Jinchuriki away from the resource starved villages. Decent idea, no real risk unless a traitor entered the organization and started feeding me intel on their movements."

A smirk made its way onto the collective inhabitants of the room's faces: "It happened didn't it?"

Hisashi smiled: "I don't know for sure yet but it is a possibility when the words further information would be passed along as it was possible are involved, it is a chance."

Hideki grinned and spoke: "The art form known as war is fought on many levels. Everyone knows about the battlefield where two armies meet but fewer understand the fight fought on the political battleground and the fight that take place under the cover of darkness in a cloak hiding a dagger."

Hiruzen shook his head: "I know that field all too well."

A silence ensued for a moment while some people reflected.

"Anything else to add or is that everything Hisashi?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, nothing that would make any sense to you guys. Hey, Hideki. I laid the foundations for telemarketers here." Hisashi said with an evil smile on his face while the Konoha natives raised eyebrows in confusion at what he could be referring to and shiver in fear at the smile that they knew meant nothing good.

Hideki seemed to understand and his expression went blank: "I know for a fact that you did not do that. I KNOW FOR A FACT: that you did not just set up the foundations for the most evil institutions of an industrially developed modern age society in a society that is just learning to start using digital technology and move away from steam powered transport. You wanna know how I know that: Because you are not the literal devil, you're just some form of the Anti-Christ." The man finished with an evil glare pointed at Hisashi who broke down giggling like a mad man during the rant.

Hideki brought his hands to his eyes and wiped, before sighing: "You actually did it, didn't you?"

Hisashi nodded. Red in the face from laughing.

"God fucking dammit, man. I knew you had a mean and petty streak but I didn't think you would take it this far. I know you are not evil, just a monster, but times like these make me wonder. How the hell are we going to explain this to Mr. Alvrick?" Hideki sighed legitimately worried sounding with that last part.

Hisashi calmed down slightly at the mention of that name: "Well for one: Very Carefully. He will probably react like you at first before breaking down laughing at the thought of me doing that just to annoy you."

Hideki shrugged: "Fair enough. Sometimes I forget just how much alike you two are personality wise. Hell, I'll probably laugh about this tomorrow. Though Naomi will probably be pissed at you for this if she finds out."

Hisashi calmed down fast and grimaced: "True."

Obito stepped in: "For the people in this room who don't understand what you are talking about, could you possibly explain and give context?"

The two men stared at each other before Hisashi answered: "Well, the first name Hideki said would properly be Albrick-san in your language though considering his position, Albrick-sama would be better. He is the current head of the organization we serve. Personality wise, envision my general personality, add a few extra wars worth of cynicism and being in the job I'm in currently for about 10 years before moving up to a high command position just before I joined, keep my optimism and make him even more likely to make a sarcastic jab or two and you have his personality. Fighting style wise, take away my shadow powers and instead give him insane speed and some minor amount of super human strength with a knack for how to apply both to deal the most damage."

Hideki spoke next, with venom and hatred in his voice: "Telemarketers are an annoying pest that tend to catch you at the worst times."

And Hisashi finished: "And Naomi is my wife, met her on an assignment, kept in touch, started dating, and eventually she joined the organization's medical corps and she was already studying medicine when we met and she was almost done with her studies when we started dating. Been married about 19 years. One kid together. The rest of my kids have a few interesting stories behind them. Naomi despises telemarketers."

Jiraiya perked up at the mention of interesting stories: "Interesting how?"

Hisashi blushed and coughed before answering: "Interesting in that they involve how I react to highly traumatizing events before actually getting help. Which usually involves a lot of alcohol and me not remembering the next few weeks clearly. All before I met Naomi."

Huh. That was about what Obito was expecting.

Hideki cut in there: "And one of those 'interesting stories' is my niece." A minor glare formed on Hideki's face towards his friend.

Hisashi raised his hands defensively: "Geez, man! How many times do I have to apologize about screwing your sister?"

Hideki smirked: "As many times that I can use it to completely take the wind out of your sails."

Hisashi's face fell completely: "You're a fucking asshole, you know that right?"

"Eh, shoe fits. And that is just the pot calling the kettle black."

The rambling kept on for a time before Hiruzen spoke up.

"As much as this has been entertaining, I'm a busy man and have work to do." Hiruzen spoke.

Tsunade cut in as well: "And I have work to do at the hospital, as entertaining and disturbing this has been, I need to get out of here."

Hisashi waved his hand: "Fine, I can tell when I'm no longer needed. Hey Jiraiya, Obito, and the annoying asshole that I don't know how I haven't killed yet. Come on, let's go grab some lunch."

The four men left the office and began walking down the hall towards the stairwell.

Obito decided to speak: "How haven't you two killed each other?"

Hideki shrugged: "I don't know how he hasn't killed me, but Hisashi is damn near impossible to kill."

Hisashi responded: "It is true. I can't even kill myself honestly and certainly not for a lack of trying for a while. And I'm not really interested in killing Mik-I mean Hideki, dammit I slipped. You would think someone who juggles so many aliases and identities would be better at remembering to use them for others." at that moment the group reached the top of the stairwell. "I think-OH SHIT!" Hisashi screamed as he slipped and tumbled down the stairs.

"OWOWOWWOWOWOFUCK!SHIT!" Hisashi yelled as he rolled down the stairs before landing at the bottom: "Owww, fuck me does everything hurt."

Obito asked: "Are you okay?!"

Hisashi held up a hand: "Ye-ep! Never fucking better!"

Jiraiya shook his head: "I knew that was coming and still wasn't ready."

Hideki spoke up: "You do realize that he does that on purpose, right?"

Obito and Jiraiya both looked at him: "Why?"

Hideki shrugged: "I don't fucking know, so people underestimate him and because he's a fucking masochist."

Hisashi grumbled: "Don't ruin my fun."

The men continued on to the streets and kept talking.

Obito smiled as he saw Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke walking down the street. Probably towards Ichiraku's.

But then Hideki's eyes went towards of them and Obito knew something was wrong immediately.

His eyes went wide and bloodshot and his body went stiff.

Obito spoke: "Hisashi, what the hell is wrong with him?"

Then the veins started around his skin began to become thick and noticeable as the veins in his eyes grew red and very noticeable.

Hisashi looked at his partner and Obito could tell he had an idea of what was happening but needed another sign to confirm it.

Hideki's eyes began going entirely red and blood began running down from his nose out of both nostrils.

Hisashi's eyes went wide and yelled: "Hideki's suffering an overload! He must have viewed the future of someone or ones who had their every waking moment rewriting so much of the road ahead. I have seen him like this before but then it wasn't this bad." Hisashi explained.

Jiraiya looked shock: "He can see the future?!"

"What can we do? Maybe a doctor or medic could help him." Obito said.

"We need to knock him out of his future-sight. Best way is to hit him so hard that his brain needs to reorient." Hisashi responded before preparing to punch Hideki.

"Sorry man, but this is going to hurt you a lot more than it is going to hurt me." Before punching Hideki hard enough to disorient.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT HIM WORSE?!" a voice yelled just after Jiraiya caught the man and gently lowered him to the ground.

Obito quickly turned around in recognition: "RIN! OVER HERE!"

Rin dashed over to the group and quickly went to work checking Hideki.

The only sounds the sounds he was making was some heavy breathing, almost like heaving.

Rin spoke: "I haven't seen someone react like this to anything before. You. You said you have seen him do this before. Mind sharing?" Rin stated pointing her statement at Hisashi.

Hisashi nodded: "Hideki has a form of future sight that allows him to view the forms and paths through life one's future may take. There are some limitations on this, he can't view much of how others may affect the path of one he is reading, his max limit of how far out he can see hovers around 10 years, and he has to focus and tunnel vision himself to focus on what he wants to read at any given moment to prevent events like this. He had stuff like this happen before when he was training to control it but nothing quite this extreme or that onset this fast, but a year ago he did view the possible futures of someone and they're actions and choices affected so much that even with tunnel visioning, he couldn't prevent an overload from starting. But that time was probably one of the most minor episodes he has had. This is the absolute worst I have seen or heard of unless this has happened more than I know of and Mikh- I mean Hideki, _dammit_, has been pulling overtime trying to keep it quiet. The only explanations I can think of is he lost control of the tunnel visioning necessary to prevent these episodes and started viewing the potential future of someone who affects a lot with their path, or started viewing the potential futures of multiple people who affect a lot with their paths and all that rendered his tunnel vision worthless in the face of how much he viewed any ways."

Rin looked at him strangely but nodded: "I don't know if you're making that up or not but there is a possible grain of truth to it, everything I'm seeing here right now points to a stimulation overload of some kind. Still don't know why you punched him."

"Cause I learned it worked during his early days of trying to control it. The easiest way to snap him out of overloads is to force his brain to reorient. He can take it after all, he is tough enough and he heals fast enough from minor stuff. Always has." Hisashi responded.

"Ugh. Man I hate it when that happens. Good grief, my head feels like I stuck it in a wood chipper and got electrocuted at the same time." Hideki grumbled as he got up.

Rin held him down: "Hey! No sudden movements and you aren't going anywhere till I know you're fine. How many fingers am I holding up?" Rin said while holding two fingers closely together.

"I think you're holding two up together tightly, either that or you're holding up one and you have large fingers." Hideki responded dryly.

Rin grumbled at the dig but continued to do her job: "I think you ought to be fine. I want you to stay here for a few more minutes and try again until you answer definitive and clearly. And no jabs about the hands trying to help you would be nice."

Hideki groaned: "Sorry about that. I'm so used to dealing with our head medic who is so easy to rile up and is kind of a dick. Keeps his job because everyone knows that beneath it all he really cares."

Hisashi spoke up: "Can you tell us what happened?"

"I had an overload. Saw a couple of kids walking down the street and something about them triggered my ability automatically. So many possibilities, my tunnel visioning was worthless against it. I'd say it was like their every waking moment was changing something, but I'm not quite sure and there is no way in hell I'm doing it again." Hideki groaned.

Hisashi nodded: "Looks like we are going to have to do lunch another time. Protocol demands I get him back to HQ for examination and debriefing in case something we need to know is in there."

Jiraiya nodded: "I understand. We'll take that raincheck and will be calling it in whenever we see you next. Be prepared for it."

Hisashi laughed and nodded: "Wouldn't expect it any other way."

Rin held up a hand: "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Hideki answered immediately: "Three held tightly together."

Rin nodded: "You should be fine. Take it easy for a while and you should be back to 100 percent soon enough."

Hideki nodded: "Will do, doc. Sorry about the dig about your hands. C'mon Hisashi. Time to go get our asses chewed out and get mine strapped to a table until they determine nothing's wrong with me. Nice meeting you all, and hopefully I might come around again."

The two men gave farewells to the Konoha trio that was with them and began leaving the village.

"Hisashi, how much have you told them about the organization and the truth about what we do?"

"As much as I'm allowed to by the Observer's code concerning the organization. Not much about what we do beyond we're peace keepers and some of what I have done."

"How long before they start pushing for more answers? Or something forces you to admit the full truth?"

"Hiruzen knows a little bit of the truth. We met when a G.C. assassin attempted to kill him. I had to fess up some of it to explain that cult's motive. Unless we have something happen that forces us into a position where we can't cover up the truth then we'll deal with it when we get there."

"Understandable. Be honest, does everything you have observed point to a possible infraction of code 3128? Besides you setting up telemarketer infrastructure."

"First off, I was kidding about that, I just did everything else to make you believe I had done it. And second: everything I have observed personally and through my network does lead me to believe that someone has committed that violation of the code."

"I knew you had to be kidding. You're going to have to report this to the council. They will probably order continued observation until a possible violator has been identified and investigated for confirmation."

"Most likely. Though you will probably have to report that you failed to fully inform them about a code 5986 occurring and bringing a hostile lifeform to an area that was unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with said hostile foreign lifeform."

Back in the village, the three began making plans.

Jiraiya spoke first: "I think I'm going to go to an old favorite of mine and see if they still know how to make their food right. See you kids later."

And the Sannin left.

Obito turned to Rin: "Have you eaten yet, Rin-chan?"

Rin shook her head: "No. I was about to when that whole thing happened. My food will probably be lukewarm now."

Obito thought for a moment: "Before everything happened, I saw the kids going towards Ichiraku. Don't think they would mind if we joined them, especially if I paid."

Rin smiled: "Hot Ichiraku's sounds better than anything lukewarm about now."

The two began walking and eventually caught up to the kids.

Obito called out to them: "Hey kids! Mind if we join you."

Naruto turned and called out: "Nii-san! Nee-chan!"

Sasuke and Hinata turned around to see the two adults approaching them

"Are you kidding? Why wouldn't I want you there?" Naruto said with the same unending enthusiasm reminded Obito and Rin so much of Kushina.

Obito held his hands up: "Woah there kid! Let's see what these two think first."

Sasuke shrugged while Hinata nodded.

Rin smiled: "Good. We wouldn't want to impose."

Obito smirked: "And I'll pay for the whole thing."

Naruto's excited reaction was expected.

Obito decided to mess with him: "But we're putting a limit on how much ramen you're allowed to have, Naruto."

The distraught expression on the kid's face made Obito crack up inside, just barely holding his composure.

He almost felt bad enough to tell Naruto he was kidding. Almost.

'_Eh, I'll tell him when we get there.' _Obito thought to himself.

The group just carried on.

Xxx

_**Land of Rice Paddies/ Sound**_

_**3 weeks and 3 days following Daybreak**_

What was a man, but the sum of their memories and experiences?

But what if you had those memories erased? What then?

The one known as Yakushi Kabuto was one who had the misfortune of being subjected to such cruelty.

All for the sake of being the perfect infiltrator sans Sasori's sleeper agents.

Luckily Orochimaru-sama found him and saw uses for him other than being a tool for infiltrating enemies for a paranoid madman.

Orochimaru-sama took pity on a boy who had been left to die to recover a child who would never be brought to Kumo.

That small act of kindness, even if it wasn't done with good intentions, had given Kabuto a glimmer of hope and a chance to build something for himself. A chance he would not waste. He would do anything for Orochimaru-sama, infiltrate any village, betray anyone, gather any information, or perform any experiment. No price was too steep to repay the kindness he was shown.

Though that was no excuse to be rude or impolite or cruel. That would be a little too much like Danzo for Kabuto's taste. Everyone deserved at least some decency, even if you were going to experiment on them. Proper anesthesia for any surgery was just basic decency.

Kabuto breathed in as he began overlooking the room that served as the holding cell for the two Uchiha that were currently slated for Orochimaru-sama's experiments before one of them became his new body.

The test for genjutsus designed to prey on their deepest and darkest fears was due to commence as soon as Orochimaru's project that had been commissioned by Akatsuki had been tested for viability.

That would most likely begin tomorrow.

The genjutsu test was based on a tidbit Zetsu-san shared regarding genjutsu being used on Uchiha to awaken their Mangekyo. If a genjutsu beyond their ability to break or they were rendered unable to break out of any genjutsu that messed with the right strings was used, eventually the pain and other emotions would swell strongly enough to induce the mental trauma and state that triggered the Mangekyo emerging.

Once the desired result was produced, their DNA would be sampled and hopefully should the worst occur, full genetic clones with Mangekyos could be produced, and later additional bloodlines could be implemented into the body.

DNA had already been extracted from both boys in the event something occurred but accidents at the other complexes where they were being stored had resulted in the order to produce new samples and send them to Orochimaru-sama's current main complex for storage.

If Kabuto hadn't known better, he would write it off as bad luck.

But years in ROOT taught him that spontaneous accidents to DNA samples stored in multiple randomly chosen high security hideout, labs, and warehouses meant that something was off.

This was an infiltrator's work. And most likely, this place was their next target.

Kabuto didn't know if it was Konoha and the Uchiha trying to reclaim the abducted Uchiha or just someone with a grudge against Orochimaru trying to deny Kabuto's master and mentor the chance at obtaining a full functioning Sharingan, but he would stop them here.

Content with what he saw, Kabuto began the process of leaving with the newly extracted samples to take them to the main hideout as soon as possible.

His thoughts consumed him trying to figure out the motive of this infiltrator but he felt the slight nagging feeling of missing something important.

It wasn't till he exited the compound that it hit him: _'Wait a second. Where the hell are the guards?'_

Kabuto looked around until he noticed a line of bodies, both guards and researchers, laid out on the grass.

Kabuto ran up and found that all of them were breathing but had been knocked out.

Kabuto quickly ran back inside the compound and found that low yield tactical explosive notes had been placed on multiple key support structures. An attempt to collapse the compound. Smart.

Whoever this infiltrator was, they knew what they were doing and had planned accordingly.

Kabuto felt some respect but he had a duty to do.

As he got closer to the actual lab he found higher yield explosive notes planted. This was a scorched earth tactic. They weren't just trying to deny Orochimaru access to the Sharingan, they were trying to destroy anything and everything they had learned from these two.

Kabuto made it to the large open area that stood before the lab before the nauseating smell of freshly spilt blood filled his lungs.

He could guess who were killed, two Uchiha brothers most likely.

Before he moved forward another step, his instincts screamed and he quickly sidestepped to catch a spread of four senbon flying pass his eyes.

"That was some good aim. Quite expert, if I do say so myself. If you hadn't been causing us so much trouble this last week I would offer you a place in our organization. You can come out now, assassin-san." Kabuto spoke.

He wasn't quite prepared for the sound of a body falling down to the ground from the air to come from behind him.

He turned around quickly and was greeted by a brown cloaked assassin with red eyes and black hair with a bandage turban and mask covering their head.

"I'm surprised, honestly…" The assassin started, Kabuto couldn't tell if the voice was masculine or feminine and not enough of the build was visible to make a guess that way. His gut wanted to say this was a woman, but his gut had made mistakes before and Kabuto paid the price for it.

The assassin continued: "…That you were able to figure out that my attacks had been a coordinated attack rather than accidents. Was I that obvious or did I botch the timing."

Kabuto decided to answer to buy time to come up with a plan. "You should have made it look less like a freak accident and aimed more for actual employee error in my professional opinion. Maybe even a bad storage measure that led to sample contamination and corruption."

The assassin seemed to contemplate the words Kabuto gave her: "Hmm that does sound clever. Thank you for the advice, Kabuto-san, I will keep it in mind for future missions. I kindly request that you cease hostilities, handover the storage scrolls containing the DNA samples you extracted from the Uchiha that were stored here earlier, and leave and join your comrades outside until I have completed my mission."

Kabuto shook his head: "As tempting as an offer to avoid confrontation might be, I have a duty to my master who gave me purpose in life to see to it that his ambitions are safeguarded and fulfilled. What you intend to do runs contrary to that duty, I believe you can see the problem here, and I hope you can understand why I must fight now."

The assassin almost seemed nostalgic: "I understand Kabuto-san. Far better than you know. My own master gave me the chance to build something out my life when others would see me as nothing more than a tool. I understand your position and I commend your loyalty. I will not hold back, but I will seek to avoid your death."

Kabuto saw the glint of some sort of device attached to their forearm on their right arm beneath the brown cloak and remembered the spread of senbon he avoided at the start of the fight. _'Is that a new type of senbon launcher? No it can't be. The aim and force behind them wouldn't have looked at all like what it did. Too much force to be a spring mechanism. This has to be something similar.'_

The assassin darted for the shadows and Kabuto decided not to chance if his opponent had better night vision than himself.

Then he heard it: _***Click* *Click* *Click* *Click***_

Kabuto was confused: _'What is that device? That was definitely not a senbon launcher.'_

Then his opponent dashed out of the shadows and tossed another spread of senbon and Kabuto realized what he was dealing with: _'It's not a senbon launcher but it is a mechanical senbon holster, some kind of mechanism that can be used to deploy senbon to their hand to be thrown in a desired amount. Seems that whoever designed it needs to work out a quieter mechanism. I need to make sure none of those needles hit me. No telling what they are prepared with. My healing may not be able to counter strongly enough.'_

Kabuto quickly dodged as his opponent made contact with the ground and began unwrapping something from a gauntlet while making a few hand seals.

Eventually his opponent made their move: "Lightning Release: Taser Chain!"

Kabuto watched as a fine chain was slung towards him and he could see the lightning chakra dance around the chain and spark ominously on the end of it.

He dodged as best he could but he was hit on his left hand before he could fully avoid it. "Aaarrrgghhh!" he screamed out in pain from the shock.

He managed to retain enough clarity to dodge the single senbon that came at him as a possible finisher to the fight. He tested out his hand quickly to determine the extent of the damage _'minor burns to the outside of the hand, minor disruption of the nerve clusters in the bottom fingers causing clumsy movement in those two fingers in particular, and overall numbness in the arm due to the shock resulting in a minor degradation to fine motor functions in the arm. My healing is already fixing the first two but I need to be extra careful now, my left arm won't be able to feel pain and that could cost me dearly in this fight. Especially against a weapon specialist who favors senbon as a throwing weapon and even worse if this opponent favors poisons.'_

The assassin gave him a brief reprieve as she re-wrapped her chain around her gauntlet: "I figured that wouldn't be enough to finish you, Kabuto-san. Seems I truly am going to have to take this fight seriously."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smirked: "As will I it seems." _'I have been playing cautious because I don't know who this is or what they are capable of. If I let another sudden move like that chain attack hit me it could mean the end of the fight. I need to take the initiative and not let them dictate the flow of the battle to me.'_

No sooner than Kabuto finish making this decision, did the assassin start their next move. They pulled something out of a tool pouch on their waist and Kabuto recognized it a flash bomb designed to go off the moment it was hit with strong enough impact after being removed from a dampener casing. Which the assassin had done and threw it at Kabuto's feet, triggering a bright flash.

'_Stay calm, Kabuto. This one was merely a flash bang. No additional effects to disorient other senses. Only sight. I can still hear, feel, and smell.'_ Kabuto began channeling chakra to enhance his other sense and began monitoring the area around him.

His sense of smell may not be as good as an Inuzuka, but he still could use it to find his foe. The scent of blood was weaker now but he could still smell it on the assassin. They had to still be here.

He listened around and found footsteps heading towards him. A handful of shuriken directed at them halted that charge.

However the assassin appeared to vanish.

Kabuto could still smell blood on them but he could no longer hear the footsteps.

A slight breeze brushing him, alerted the former ROOT that someone was rushing by.

He attempted a sweep but found too late how hard it was to aim one when you are blinded.

Eventually his sight began clearing up and Kabuto found himself thanking whatever god had smiled upon him and allowed his sight to return to normal.

Kabuto tested his left arm and found that it had healed to appreciable condition: "Alright, no more games of Cat and Mouse. Now to end what we start."

Kabuto straightened his hands and began channeling chakra to them to form his Chakra Scalpels.

The assassin appeared intrigued: "My, what skill. I have personally witnessed the performance and usage of that particular Medical Jutsu before but I don't think I have ever seen it used for actual combat."

Kabuto smirked: "I'm not surprised honestly. Very few people have the mental discipline to maintain the amount of focus needed to maintain the jutsu's stability and function while having to dodge, parry, and plan out attacks."

The assassin nodded: "Indeed. One of the medics I have seen using this jutsu has mentioned that when I asked him about my own thoughts about combat and assassination applications for Chakra Scalpels. Seems you are well above average. Perhaps even prodigious in your field of expertise. No more games. I have a mission to complete and I will not fail my master." The assassin declared while her arms reached behind her and pulled two short single edged kunai-like swords.

Kabuto remained calm on the outside while running questions on the inside: _'I don't believe that I have ever encountered swords like those before. Odd design but they might be custom made and designed to fit into the taijutsu style they were trained in. Those seals on the blades must have some purpose. Perhaps they are designed to repair the blade in a similar manner to Kiri's Kubikiribocho by pulling iron content from any blood that contacts the blade. Or perhaps the seals are designed to interact with a certain jutsu. That might be it.'_

The assassin held both blades in one hand at an odd angle while they began making hand seals finishing the sequence with the declaration: "Fire Release: Dragon's claws."

The assassin immediately contacted the seals with their hands and the blades began burning.

Kabuto mentally noted: _'Alright, that is the purpose of the seals. They are meant to be used for an advanced form of chakra flow and channeling through a weapon with a jutsu design to begin channeling the chakra to the blades and seal most likely preserving the charge as long as possible with additional chakra being channeled to it normally like with chakra channeling to a weapon. That is interesting. I have heard of such methods before but this is the first time I have seen it up close. It would probably cost more to begin the initial energizing, but the payoff would be that it would be far more efficient in the long run, especially for long bouts. Perhaps I could study this assassin's weapons once I have knocked them out.'_

Kabuto waited for his opponent to charge before he began his own, hoping to be able to read some intent off it.

The assassin refused to oblige.

Grunting Kabuto decided to make the first move. He charged and swiped with his left hand scalpel while preparing to strike with his right the moment the assassin moved to dodge.

The assassin instead used the flat of the blades they used to parry the hand away before swiping at the strike that was coming.

Kabuto pulled his right hand back out of the way of the incoming strike and got his left arm away from the parry that knocked his initial feint aside.

Kabuto quickly swiped with his right hand, connecting with the assassin and earning a yelp of pain but Kabuto did not pay attention to see where he hit her as he pulled back and began inspecting his injury.

A quick examination showed the extent of the damages. _'Minor burn, not even first degree. Won't take much to heal but I can't risk letting something additional happen to it. This injury could have been a lot worse considering this arm is numb. At least I can't feel the pain to break my focus.' _

Kabuto prepared for another skirmish but he found his opponent gone from his sight.

A moment later he felt the searing heat of one of the assassin's blades around his throat and the storage scroll containing the DNA samples being removed from his person.

The Assassin spoke quietly: "I respect you as an opponent, Yakushi Kabuto, but you put too much time into trying to play mind games with your opponent and analyzing them. Both are good tactics in most situations but if you are unable to properly read your opponent, it is almost worthless. You didn't know anything distinct about me to even begin to try to throw me off mental balance so you didn't bother with what I assume was a large part of your style, and it showed with a fighting style that while skilled and refined, lacked an edge to make it even more dangerous. You also spent too much time assessing your injuries and trying to compensate for them safely rather than just putting everything you had into beating me quickly. Though I do commend you for damaging me, your swipe connected with part of abdomen, just barely away from anything vital. I'd probably be dead if you swiped even a centimeter further than you did. Unfortunately enough for you, when I start fighting serious my opponents think I'm still playing around until it is far too late. However, our duel is over. Unless you improve greatly, the next time will be the same. Until we meet again."

With that Kabuto felt something hit the back of his head and knock him out.

He awoke outside the compound with the others only to awaken in time to see the explosives go off.

Any trail the assassin had left would have gone cold by now if they knew what they were doing, which was most likely true.

Kabuto got the others and led them back to the main compound.

He knew some of them were scared of being punished for what happened. A reasonable assumption.

He also knew that Orochimaru might be willing to forgive if they volunteered for experiments. And he knew there was also the chance that Orochimaru might forgive them outright, the deal with Akatsuki had done much to change the Snake Sannin's mindset over the years.

He knew the stakes of the game he was part of and knew you had to have men you could trust to not turn on you at your weakest.

Though Kabuto was willing to admit fear at what consequences would be given to himself.

Undaunted, Kabuto began the journey back to the main compound, leading the staff of the now ruined facility.

Hoping that this was not a mistake.

'_Whatever happens, it still is better than working for Danzo.'_

Xxx

_**Konoha**_

_**3 weeks and 5 days following Daybreak**_

"That's a strange burn Kakashi. Where did you get it?"

Kakashi sighed and regretted following standard mission protocol that few ever did, namely going to the hospital to have injuries looked at and treated.

Spent almost two weeks on a search and destroy mission looking for a group of bandits causing trouble, turned out those bandits was a cell of independent ninja trained and led by an Ame Missing Nin.

Kakashi was assigned to the mission to back up Kagome as it was her proving mission, but the moment they discovered the operation being built towards and conducted within the Land of Fire both were ready to destroy this enemy.

Kakashi actually checked the Bingo book after the dust had settled and the Ame Missing Nin had been killed but found no profile matching the unidentified Missing Nin. Though the Missing Nin's ANBU gear might be used to figure out who he was.

Maybe he was one of the smart ones who faked their death reasonably well enough before running and then putting together his cell and hiding in the shadows until he could escape being identified. Those were the hardest to find.

Though he did say something strange when asked about why he left Ame, something about people like him not being able to survive in Pain's new Amegakure.

Whatever the hell that meant.

Kakashi had some mildly concerning injuries, but nothing life threatening and yet he decided to go anyway.

Which meant Rin saw the burns he got when Kagome was forced to go all out against the Missing Nin.

"From a fight on my mission." Kakashi answered trying to deflect.

"No kidding. What gave it to you?" Rin asked, already done with any of Kakashi's nonsense.

"Someone." Kakashi responded trying not to break the promise he made.

A noise came from Rin and her expression twitched slightly which Kakashi knew was the sign that she was starting to get really pissed off.

"Kakashi, do you really want to play this game with me right now? These look like acid burns. Try giving an actual answer this time." Rin stated in a tone that seemed somewhere between calm and pissed off.

Kakashi sighed: "Got singed by a passing Boil Release jutsu."

Rin raised an eyebrow: "Boil Release? The report makes no mention of you encountering a Terumi clansmen alongside…Kagome….Oh that makes her nickname make sense now."

Kakashi nodded. Then Rin spoke again: "How does she have it? The documents that came in with the Taki Refugees point to her family being from Taki for generations and having no relation to the Terumi Clan."

Kakashi spoke as Rin went to work treating the burns: "In my opinion, it is probably for the best if we just stay out of it. I asked her and she didn't give an answer and started brooding, which means she probably doesn't even know herself and her mind goes to the worst possibility as a plausible explanation. It might just be something similar to the Terumi girl who defected to Iwa in between the 2nd and 3rd Great Ninja Wars."

Rin sighed: "Fair enough. Considering what we do know about the Third Mizukage's regime and what is rumored and all, it wouldn't surprise me at all if something similar was the case. Though the Terumi managed to get even with Iwa on that with that member of the Yogumo clan who defected to Kiri and married into the Terumi."

Kakashi started laughing: "Yeah that is true, but Iwa has problems with Lava Release users descended from Yogumos being present in quite a few of the villages that are actively against them especially in recent years. Hell, Kumo might even have one."

Rin sighed: "Once again, Fair enough. So what's the verdict on Kowinaga Kagome?"

Kakashi nodded: "The Bingo Book doesn't overplay her prowess. Probably underplays it a bit. She is decent enough and her skills are suited for multiple tasks. The only problems she has is that she has a slight communications problem, she loses her temper at kidnapers and probably for good reason, and she has a tendency to tunnel vision when the objective is nearby. That last one is how I got the burns."

Rin nodded in understanding: "Do you think those problems can be ironed out?"

Kakashi thought for a moment: "Possibly. She is a team player, her communications problem seems to stem from being mostly separated from allies enough to let loose without much worry. That can be fixed with the proper action. The tunnel visioning is probably harder to deal with, she might have to learn how to deal with that on her own. The temper problem might have something to do with some traumatic incident, probably something to do with her sensei's death. The only thing I can think of to help that would be send her to a Yamanaka or a psychiatrist or some other mental health expert. That might be able to level her temper out regarding kidnapers but I highly doubt it would eliminate it entirely. At the very least, it would probably help her keep from exploding like she did when we found that girl."

Rin went surprised: "Do I even want to know what was done to the girl you found?"

Kakashi just shook his head. The look in his exposed eye conveying more than words ever could.

Kakashi decided to redirect the conversation: "So anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Rin shrugged: "Not much. That traitor from the academy that you apprehended got executed, bunch of Taki refugees arrived and settled, and Anko got summoned to the Snake Clan's cave and got Orochimaru's contract with the clan revoked. She has been in a pretty good mood ever since."

Kakashi chuckled: "I can imagine. Anything else?"

"Not much. Heard Obito and Jiraiya had discovered some information about what all happened during that invasion a few weeks back and what exactly they were gunning for. Apparently the shots were being called by the two creeps who helped the ones who attacked Mikoto and the others escape. The one that Shisui recognized and the one that Mikoto recognized. Apparently Shisui's was named Tobi and he's some big shot in a mercenary group called Akatsuki. Obito pretty much said that the group was behind the attack, or at the very least ordered it." Rin said.

Kakashi nodded blankly as he withdrew to his thoughts.

Every instinct Kakashi had said that Tobi was the one who broke into the village and released the Kyubi. With Kamui and apparently able to use both the phasing and warping capabilities of the technique would have made sneaking past the ANBU guard and slaughtering them unaware child's play with the right set up. Definitely would have given Minato-sensei a hard time if he knew what he was doing. Minato had some experience from sparing against Obito on how to deal with Kamui, but Obito had access to the jutsu for only two years while Tobi may have had it for lot longer. Shisui confirmed that Tobi had the standard Mangekyo, but analysis of the corpses of the masked invaders indicated the presence of a healing factor similar in nature to that of Senju Hashirama. Supposedly one of the corpses healed all of its wounds 12 hours after death. If Tobi had a similar healing ability, then any eye damage from Mangekyo usage would be negated. Obito's early Mangekyo usage was sparing to preserve his eyesight as much as possible and thus rarely actually experimented with it while Tobi may not have had to deal with such limitations. There was no telling if Tobi was bound by the same five minutes of intangibility max followed by a ten second cooldown Obito was bound by. Kakashi noticed a slight shift in those, but it was barely noticeable.

No telling if certain applications of Kamui phasing like extending the phasing effect to something in hand before releasing it and leaving it behind was possible with the standard Mangekyo version of Kamui. Obito only began experimenting and discovered it after gaining the Eternal Mangekyo. That trick helped bypass an Earth Dome layered with a Wind Technique that prevented Lightning Release from being properly effective against the barrier.

All information that could be gathered pointed to plenty of factors that would have given Minato-sensei a lot of trouble, and probably more due to the differences between the two Kamui users.

'_Everything points to Tobi being responsible for that night. All the pain, all the misery, all the suffering, and all the death that came from the Kyubi being released, hypnotized, and set upon the village is his fault. We don't know who is hiding behind that mask, but it doesn't matter, he's a murderer and every instinct I have is telling me he is the one at fault. Obito wants to be Hokage to safeguard the village and give the next generation a chance to inherit a world not on the brink of war, Me and Rin will always support him in that, I'll always be the one he can test himself against so he can keep improving so he can reach that goal. And by doing that, Obito will help me reach my goal, to avenge Minato-sensei, Kushina-sensei, and everyone else who died that night eight years ago by teaching me how to properly fight a Kamui user. Tobi will be made to pay, and I have every intention to make sure that it happens.' _Kakashi thought to himself grimly.

This part of him was a side that he didn't show often. Obito put his pain to trying to protect the village, Rin put hers to trying to heal the physical pain and injuries of others, while Kakashi put his to killing the bastard who had caused so much of the current situation.

Cause if he tried once and tried a second time then he would try again. And next time Kakashi would make sure Tobi lost far more than he gained as well as ensure the bastard never grabbed Naruto or any other jinchuriki.

Anything to fulfill Kakashi's life mission: to protect Minato's legacy in all its forms.

Rin smiled: "Well, you're all good to go. Take it easy for-" Rin got no further before a shiver ran down both teammates' spines.

The doors to the room they were in slammed open a moment later.

"YOSH! KAKASHI MY ETERNAL RIVAL! I missed our rivalry's competition while you were gone but now that you're back we can begin once more!" Gai energetically declared.

Kakashi turned to Rin with a pleading look in his eye, not ready for Gai's antics, but found Rin with a strained smile: "Gai, please be quite in the hospital. Some need the rest. Take this competition elsewhere."

Kakashi knew instantly that he would get no help here: "Fine Gai. What do you want to do this time?"

Gai began one of his self-punishment rants concerning forfeits if he failed to carry out a forfeit.

Kakashi mentally shrugged: _'Eh, Kind of missed this. Maybe this will help with my stamina problem.'_

Kakashi walked beside Gai as Gai declared that one of his plausible forfeits as training ninkens out of everyday pets while wearing eight ton weights and wearing only his underwear.

Somehow that was one of Gai's least strange and probably most practical forfeit if he carried it out.

Xxx

_**Land of frost**_

_**2 weeks, 3 days following daybreak**_

Kisame shivered, both from cold and from excitement as he overlooked the compound he was preparing to break into.

Kisame was glad that he had decided to do some reconnaissance here.

Not really sneaking in as much as getting a look through magnification lenses to get an idea of what defenses he was up against and how to best break them.

Samehada was the same, shivering from cold and excitement that Fuguki would be avenged tonight.

The noble who sent the assassin, Korekuta, he seemed to be far more reliant on shinobi compared to other nobles.

Probably had enough money making properties that he could afford that kind of expenses.

But the sheer size of his estate interested Kisame: _'This almost looks like a fortress but what would he be keeping in buildings like that?'_

Kisame shook the thought from his head as he began walking in.

Didn't even bother to suppress his chakra. If he had any competent sensors on his payroll, it would be pointless for Kisame to try to hide his chakra. Being the Tailless Biju had its downsides.

One tried to sound the alarm but Kisame silenced him with a lazy one handed swing of Samehada. The poor bastard didn't even see it coming.

Kisame was about to continue to the main house of the estate, but his interest in what was stored in those side houses won out and the shark man found himself walking towards the nearest one.

Two ninja were guarding the entrance. A quick slice from Samehada took their heads.

The door to the building was locked. _'Water Release: Exploding Water Wave!'_ a rushing torrent from Kisame's mouth destroyed the door.

Inside was a collection of various swords and weapons.

Kisame raised an eyebrow: _'Was this what Korekuta was planning on doing to Samehada? Just put her up on this wall?'_

Ninja from other parts of the compound began rushing in, Samehada was sensing them.

"Hehe, time to run wild Samehada." Kisame practically giggled.

Samehada responded by shifting its scales and slicing the bandages covering the half towards its tip. Just before Kisame rushed forward and took more heads.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Kisame smirked as he backhanded the bolt of lightning chakra using Samehada before firing back: "Water Release: Water Shark Missile!"

The shark like projectile formed and rushed towards the guard before biting the bastard's head off.

Kisame was grinning with joy at the slaughter and could feel Samehada enjoying the feast.

"Water Release: Water Shark Missile!" Kisame shouted with a grin that conveyed feral enjoyment of the hunt.

Eventually he broke into the palace and found himself face to face with a noble who look unimpressive. Neither regal nor plain. Average.

The man smiled with an aura that already began raining on Kisame's mood: "It took some years but it looks like I finally get to add Samehada to my collection. I am Korekuta. You have the honor of giving it to me and then kneeling to have your head taken for threatening to harm my collection."

Kisame felt his eyebrows skyrocket and he spoke: "…Are you kidding me? You honestly expect me to handover my sword and then lay down to be killed?! I'm here to avenge Fuguki-sensei, who you had murdered to get Samehada. Samehada will never accept you as her master. She will kill or maim you the moment you touch her handle. I saw that army you hired, if you thought that would keep my vengeance away then you are going to regret it in whatever hell there is in the Pure World, if there even is one."

The noble sneered: "I remember the death threat, unfortunately for you, I don't listen to meaningless words. I order you to hand me that damn sword, peasant!"

Kisame smiled: "I'm going to enjoy killing you, a lot more than I should."

No one came when the screams started as Kisame tore the man apart, one limb at a time, before slowly cutting the man to pieces while using Samehada's reserves to keep the bastard alive as far as possible.

Kisame left the land of Frost covered in blood but smiling as he had avenged his master.

Time to begin building his world of truth, no matter what any future-seer told him.

-X-

_**Land Of Ancestors**_

_**4 weeks following Daybreak**_

Kisame awoke from his dream and yawned.

Probably the most spot on representation of what had happened at Korekuta's estate in his dreams since he stormed it.

Kisame made breakfast from some preserved meat, and then began travelling onward.

Eventually Kisame reached a large, 40 kilometer area. There was grass in some spots, but the area appeared to be gashed and cut and seared.

The landscape was covered in carnage. Craters, destroyed landscape, and seared cuts littered the battleground.

'_Whatever happened here was a hell of a battle. I just wish I could have been here to see it, or even better, fight in it. Probably make it even worse.' _The large shark like man thought as he began moving forward.

A few hours of walking and Kisame arrived at the entrance to his destination, a mostly subterranean compound with the Land of Ancestors.

The doors were closed and it would be rude and counterproductive to barge in to the dwelling of his new partner, so Kisame found a nice place to sit and waited.

Less than 5 minutes later the door opened and a masked figure limped out to meet him.

It looked like a woman in the black bodysuit she wore and at her waist was a kusarigama blade and part of its chain with the other half of the chain and whatever was at the end of it missing.

He could see the cast she had around one arm, her non-dominant one if he was reading her stance and holstering right.

Though the mask she wore was interesting, the bottom had a pattern that looked like an artistic rendering of a pile of ash, above that was a flame and ascending from that was an image of a phoenix with large tail feathers proudly displaying itself with the kanji for 'Reborn' written on the center of its torso. 'Reborn from the ashes like the glorious phoenix.'

The woman bowed and spoke: "Greetings Kisame-san. I am called Mai, and I am a subordinate to Moyo-sama. We have been expecting you for some time"

Kisame bowed as well: "Decided to take my time a little bit before heading here and enjoy the scenery. I saw that battleground out there, what happened there?"

The woman flinched: "One of our own was deemed unstable and insane, enough to warrant restraining him and attempting to see if helping him is possible. That battle scarring is just under 2 weeks old. My kusarigama's damaged state and my injuries were caused by the fighting. We were able to subdue him after a half an hour."

Kisame laughed: "Looks and sounds like it was quite the battle."

The girl seemed to scowl under her mask: "I was staring down death in the eyes of a crazed monster. It was intense and I don't want to be in a situation like it for some time. Death and dismemberment I can handle, but what that, whatever it could be called, I don't want to ever experience again."

The story that wasn't told Kisame knew would be rather interesting.

"May I ask why this battle was so difficult and distressing?" Kisame asked politely, trying to get his answer.

The woman shook slightly before answering. "…Have you ever been exposed to one of the Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan Genjutsu, specifically Tsukuyomi the torturing hellscape illusion?"

Kisame grimaced: "Once, about two and a half years ago, I got into a fight with Shisui the Teleporter. We fought each other to a stalemate but it was clear that he was losing ground and I was gaining it due to Samehada healing me as well as replenishing my stamina and reserves. Most of his genjutsu weren't taking against me due to Samehada eating the chakra out of my system before they could take and those that did Samehada stopped by disrupting my system, he was fast enough to avoid most of my ninjutsu and get out of the way of Samehada while getting in his own strikes. He was backed into a corner and he rushed me to trick me into believing he was attempting a sword strike. I only caught on after seeing the grin he had and the symbols in his eyes before he whispered almost as silent as a grave but was clear enough for me to hear: _'Tsukuyomi.'_ Next thing I knew I was in some black and red hellscape and chained up. Then he started talking about how time worked differently in this world and began torturing me. Bunch of clones of him came out of nowhere and stabbed me quite a few times before everything reset and he declared one second had passed and that 27 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds remained. I know he had been stabbing me for about five minutes before that. Kept going until the world collapsed but I had the absolute worst headache and almost passed out while he turned and retreated."

Mai nodded: "That is Tsukuyomi. Be thankful Shisui is less skilled with it than most from the sounds of it. Most practitioners of the Mangekyo Sharingan can only extend the overall duration of the illusion or the amount of time each second encompasses. Shisui sounds to have gained great control over the overall duration while sacrificing some of but not all of the second's duration. They say a true master of Tsukuyomi can make the duration last for weeks and the seconds last for days while torturing you into either insanity, catatonia, or just death with the pains and horrors they can unleash within the hellscape. Some of the legends about Madara and Izuna state that they were capable of those feats with the illusion."

Kisame nodded, easily finding such feats to be believable with Madara. Izuna was slightly less well known than his elder brother and definitely lacked his raw power, but those who knew of him knew of his skill and knew that this wouldn't be outside possibility for the younger Uchiha Brother.

Then she continued "That said, our collective has delved into arts attempting to create similar genjutsu with the similar affects which has yielded two successes: The Illusory Woods technique and Poisoned Reality. Poisoned Reality is similar to a Hell Viewing or Collapsing Reality illusion but digs up every dark fear you hold and creates a world in your head that makes it all come true and can trick you completely into believing it is real and every fear you hold is coming to fruition. It is almost impossible to escape the illusion without external help. The event of a Mangekyo awakening is the only known way to break out at the moment. To take down the insane operative, who was a user of Poisoned Reality, I allowed myself to be hit by it and used the time he would be pinned down by that to allow Moyo-sama to get in close and administer the finishing blow. I was broken out after one minute within the illusion, but it was already one minute too long." The girl finished with an absolutely haunted look in her eyes that Kisame recognized from some people who had witnessed terrible horrors and atrocities.

Kisame nodded: "I believe I understand."

Mai nodded. Before any more conversation could begin, a voice called.

"I apologize for my lack of presence when you arrived Kisame-san." A voice Kisame recognized called out.

Wearing the black and red cloak of the Akatsuki alongside his white mask painted with Black chains, Moyo walked towards the two.

"Moyo-sama, is it safe?" Mai asked.

"It is Mai. We have confirmed that Okuninushi stuck and he won't be trying to escape until we figure out what to do with him." Moyo responded. At this moment Kisame noticed the sword the man had at his side. A simple katana.

Kisame felt his interest pique and asked: "You any good with that sword, Moyo-san?"

Moyo shrugged: "I used to use a sword years ago, before I had developed my scorpion chain. I'm wondering if I still know how to use it right. Figured you might be the right opponent to test it with."

Kisame smiled: "We'll see about that. Got my cloak?"

Moyo nodded and handed it to Kisame who took off Samehada's sheath and put on the cloak before reattaching the belt around his torso diagonally.

Kisame questioned: "Anything you need to take care of before we leave?"

Moyo shook his head: "No. The last task I needed done was finished as you arrived. Anything else that would need attention can be handled at a later date."

Kisame nodded.

The man turned towards Mai: "Mai, we'll discuss the details of our dilemma the next time I am here. Understood?"

Mai nodded: "Understood. Safe travels. Both of you."

Kisame smiled: "I doubt I need it, Moyo-san would probably need it more, but thanks anyways."

And with that, the two were off.

Heading to the mission that Pain had given them.

**End Chapter**

**I honestly feel that this is the weakest chapter I have written for this entire Fic so far. But it is somewhat necessary to move forward in my grand plan. I apologize for it. Next chapter will be far different. **

**I don't have it in me to write a more detailed dissection then what I have already done. I'll probably do it later.**

**Kisame 1: Originally this section didn't exist, it originally started with Moyo. I think it was obvious where Moyo learned the code encryption that he wrote his message in that led to Hisashi rushing to Konoha last chapter.**

**Has anyone noticed how much I state that there is no fate but that which is molded by our actions and decisions? Just curious, Koryo Hideki's gift is future sight but it shows him the various twists and turns life can take and he knows that the actions and decisions of others can affect that even further. **

**Moving on to Moyo. I mention in the previous chapter for anyone who reads my notes that the named Makayu (usually) have references to ninja from other franchises. Moyo's style and usage of fire release is based on Hanzo Hasashi, better known as Scorpion, from Mortal Kombat. With his flame pillar producing Body flicker being analogous to Scorpion's Flameport when used in cutscenes and his chained blade, which I termed as the Scorpion blade in the final segment, being similar to Scorpion's Spear with Moyo's fire release being designed to emulate Scorpion's usage of Hell Flames. I had started basing Moyo's style on Scorpion at the start of the writing for his fights. The additional characterization and more in depth character traits I had made part of his character before I decided to expand it to the other hybrids/ Makayus. The yellow coloring noted to Moyo's fire release is due to hell flames usually being colored yellow to represent their unnaturalness and their eeriness. I actually started basing Moyo on Scorpion early in the writing process for this fic before the rewrite really kicked in and had me redesign a lot of my plans. Originally, in my oldest draft Moyo was supposed to be just Tobi's replacement, but that was before I had even started uploading the fic, by the time I reached uploading the Scorpion influence was there.**

**And if he roasts an opponent to the bone with a fire release move he breathes out, it is perfectly valid if a man declares in a falsetto: "TOASTY!"**

**Fun fact: the jutsu Mai uses during the spar were originally named Tengu Flame and Tengu's Talon. I did some research (NO! Not that Kind Jiraiya) and found that Tengu have never truly been associated with fire. So they became Phoenix Flame Blast and Phoenix Talon, better fitting with the Phoenix theme I used for Mai as her new mask. The phoenix image is based on the logo for the game Mercenary Wings: The False Phoenix for anyone wondering.**

**Kage is based on Sheik from the Legend Of Zelda, merging aspects from all of his/her appearances: the lighter skin color, armoring, and kunai from Hyrule Warriors, the more feminine design from Ocarina of Time 3D, the scarf from the Smash Bros Ultimate version which was based on LoZ: Breath of the Wild's Sheikah armor alongside a good bit of her moves from Smash. The name Kage is based on Sheik's claim of being a member of the Sheikah tribe, who are nicknamed "The Shadow Folk" due to mastery of shadow magic and tendencies to remain hidden, working from within the shadows. The cloak she wears and the two blades I gave her for her primary weapons are based on the Garo Cloak enemies from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, with her dragon's claw technique that lights her swords on fire being based on the Garo Captain mini boss from the Stone Pillar temple. I probably could have fitted in some aspect of the Yiga Clan as well but I figured I would be shoving too much in. Maybe that will be used to make another Makayu assassin or two. **

**Arasha is based on Impa from Legend of Zelda, specifically the incarnation from Hyrule Warriors. Her relation to Kage is based on Impa's relation to Zelda as both a mother or sister like figure as well as a protector and mentor. Her relation to Moyo is based on her Hyrule Warriors incarnation's role, an experienced veteran who leads the good guys' forces alongside younger comrades and commanders. Arasha is supposed to be older than the rest as one of the earlier Makayu hybrids who rejected Zetsu's treatment early on but suffered through due to lack of viable options to end the bondage until the younger Moyo began assembling his rebellion which she joined immediately. In this, the relationship between Arasha and Moyo mirrors that of Ashiya Shirou/ Alciel and Maou Sadou/ Satan Jacobs from The Devil is a Part-Timer/ Overlord at Work series.**

**I decided to remove the fight with Kudo from this chapter. I may not have quite the problems other writers have with OCs but I have a limit on how much I will allow focus on one in a single chapter. The fight will probably show up as a flashback in a future chapter. And considering just how much there was already do you understand how much more it could have been.**

**In addition to the cocktail of traits procured from other characters, Kudo is based on Noob Saibot, or Bi-Han the original Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat. This was a decision that was made in the middle of writing this chapter. I had based Moyo partially on Scorpion so who better to be the most persistent obstacle to the birth of his clan than someone based on Noob Saibot. Just wish I could have thought of it earlier. His weapon is based on his MK11 appearance with his usage of the shadow copies are based on Noob Saibot from MK9/ MK 2011 and MK 11. The jutsu he uses to generate the shadow doubles is named after Agyo, one of the two guardians of Japanese Buddhist temples and being a symbol of overt violence, that last part being incredibly fitting for Kudo. The relationship between Moyo and Kudo is inspired by the dynamic between Noob and his little brother Kuai Liang, better known as the Sub Zero everyone really thinks about, a once strong bond between brothers that was turned violently sour by one of them dying (Literally Bi-Han's case and figuratively in Kudo's case) and the events following the death creating a monster.**

**On another note: anyone who losses against Kudo, considering his basis, it is perfectly valid to respond with: "It is official: YOU SUCK!"**

**Konoha 1/ Ibiki: thought it was a slow way to introduce everyone to the recovering Konoha. Came up with an explanation for why the school was suspended for two weeks and why it is back now. Also addresses Mizuki. This section takes place after Anko's first part. In case you didn't figure it out, Ibiki saw Koryo Hideki and Kageyami Hisashi meeting up.**

**Konoha 2/ academy: glimpse of the academy class that is going to become the Konoha 15 with the addition of Yakumo, Fu, and Sai. Started with Fu because I know what it is like to know the kids your age from one place then move and be forced to reintroduce yourself to a class of kids your age but no-one you really know. Sai's problem that he explains to Ino is one I know too well.**

**Konoha 3/ Anko and the snakes: this one holds the sendoff for Hope that I was intending to do last chapter but decided against it. This is not a recreation of the exact circumstances of her death, just creating a situation I know that little rascal would get into. Mikomi means "Hope" in Japanese, which is why Anko makes the Hopeless joke, a comment similar to what my mom feels with the little girl gone. Anko witnesses Hideki arriving in Konoha. Moving on: This section with the snakes is one that I planned for a while.**

**Kisame 2: this was to show the follow up to Kisame's first segment. The attack on the man's estate is a dream flashback. I might tell other flashbacks in a similar way. This segment shows the fallout from Kudo's off screen takedown, I'll probably add it in a later chapter as a similar flashback to how Kisame starts this segment.**

**I'm tired and I need sleep. It is 12:27 AM on 8/29/2020. It will be uploaded soon.**

**I will probably take a few days off before starting the next chapter.**

**Until Next Time: Stay safe and stay healthy**

**SEE YA LATER!**


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